Adamson University Transmission Lines

TRANSMISSION LINES Parallel-Conductor TL’s

A transmission line is a metallic conductor system that is used to
transfer electrical energy from one point to another. More
specifically, a transmission line is two or more conductors separated
by an insulator, such as a pair of wires or a system of wire pairs.
Transverse Electromagnetic Waves (TEM)
An Electromagnetic wave is produced by the acceleration of an
electric charge.
In a TEM wave, the direction of displacement is perpendicular to the
direction of propagation.
In a Longitudinal wave, the direction of displacement is in the
direction of propagation.
From the figures below, it can be seen that the E and H fields are
perpendicular to each other (at 90 angles) at all points. This is
referred to as space quadrature.
1. Open-Wire TL. An open-wire TL is a two-wire parallel
conductor consists simply of two parallel wires, closely
spaced and separated by air. Non-conductive spacers are
placed at periodic intervals for support and to keep the
distance between the conductors constant.
2. Twin Lead TL. Often called
Ribbon Cable. Essentially the
same with an open-wire except
that the spacers between the
two conductors are replaced
with a continuous solid dielectric which ensures uniform
spacing along the entire cable. Typically the distance
between conductors is 5/16 inch for television TL.

3. Twisted-Pair Cable. It is
formed by twisting together
two insulated conductors.
Pairs are often stranded in
units, and the units are then
cabled into cores. The cores
are covered with various types of sheaths, depending on
their intended use.

4. Shielded-Cable pair. A
Shielded-cable pair has
parallel conductors separated
by a solid dielectric and
Characteristics of Electromagnetic Waves surrounded by copper braided
1. Wave Velocity. In free space, TEM waves travel at the speed tubing and then covered with a protective plastic coating.
of light, c = 186,283 statute mi/s or 299,793,000 m/s, This is to reduce radiation loss and interference.
rounded off to 186,000 mi/s and 3 x 10 8 m/s.
2. Frequency and Wavelength. The rate at which the periodic
wave repeats is its frequency. The distance of one cycle
occurring in space is called the wavelength, .
v

f
Types of Transmission Lines
1. Balanced TL. Both conductors carry current; one conductor
carries the signal and the other is the return. Its type of
transmission is called differential or balanced signal
transmission. Concentric or Coaxial TL
2. Unbalanced TL. One wire is at ground potential, whereas Coaxial conductors are used extensively for high frequency
the other wire is at signal potential. This type of applications to reduce losses and to isolate transmission paths. The
transmission is called single-ended or unbalanced signal basic coaxial cable consists of a center conductor surrounded by a
transmission. concentric (uniform distance from the center) outer conductor.

Incident Waves 1. Rigid Air-Filled. The center

 Electromagnetic Waves that travel along a transmission line conductor is surrounded
from the source toward the load. coaxially by a tubular outer
conductor and the insulating
Reflected Waves material is air. The outer
 Electromagnetic Waves that travel from the load back conductor is physically isolated
toward the source. and separated from the center by a spacer, which is
generally made of Pyrex, polystyrene, or some other non-
Balun – a circuit device used to connect a balanced transmission line conductive material.
to an unbalanced load.

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Prepared by: Engr. Rex Jason H. Agustin
Adamson University Transmission Lines
2. Solid Flexible Coaxial Cable. The outer conductor is into an infinitely long line or the impedance seen looking
braided, flexible and coaxial to the center conductor. The into a finite length of line that is terminated in a purely
insulating materiel is a solid nonconductive polyethylene resistive load equal to the characteristic impedance of the
material that provides support and electrical isolation line.
beween the ineer and outer conductors.
CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE, ZO
Z
ZO 
Y
where:
Z = series impedance per section
Z = R + jL
Y = shunt admittance per section
Y = G + jC
LOSSES IN A TRANSMISSION LINE
1. Conductor Losses or Copper losses can result from power R  jL
ZO 
(I2R) loss, in the form of heat, or skin effect. These losses G  jC
decrease the conductivity of a line.
2. Dielectric Heating Losses are caused by the heating of the
dielectric material between conductors, taking power from At very low frequencies: L  0; C  0;
the source.
3. Radiation Losses are caused by part of the electromagnetic R
fields of a conductor being dissipated into space or nearby ZO 
objects. G
4. Coupling Loss occurs whenever a connection is made to or
from a transmission line or when two separate pieces of TL At very high frequencies: R  0; G  0;
are connected together. Mechanical connections are
discontinuities (places where dissimilar materials meet).
L
Discontinuities tend to heat up, radiate energy and ZO 
dissipate power. C
5. Corona is a luminous discharge that occurs between the Parallel-wire line
two conductors of a transmission line when the difference
of potential between them exceeds the breakdown voltage S
of the dielectric insulator.

TL Equivalent Circuit
d=2r
2S
Z O  276 log
d

Coaxial Transmission Line

outer
dielectric shield

Distributed Parameters are electrical constants of series inductance

(L), shunt capacitance (C), series DC resistance (R) and shunt 138 D d D
conductance (G) that are distributed along the transmission line. ZO  log
r d
Transmission Characteristics
138 D
1. Characteristic Impedance, Z0, is the ratio of E to I at every ZO  log
point along the line. For maximum transfer of electrical r d
power, the characteristic impedance and load impedance
must be matched. Characteristic Impedance (also known as
Surge Impedance) is defined as the impedance seen looking

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Prepared by: Engr. Rex Jason H. Agustin
Adamson University Transmission Lines
2. Propagation Constant. It is also known as propagation standing wave on a TL. SWR is a measure of mismatch between the
coefficient is used to express the attenuation (signal loss) load impedance and the characteristic impedance of the TL.
and the phase shift per unit length of a transmission line.
VMAX
COMPLEX PROPAGATION CONSTANT,  SWR 
VMIN
  ZY  ( R  jL)(G  jC )    j
VMAX Ei  Er
SWR  
where: VMIN Ei  Er
 = attenuation constant
 = phase shift constant (rad/m); (rad/u.l.) 1 
SWR 
Under lossless case:  = 0; R=0; G=0 1 

   LC SWR  1

SWR  1
INPUT IMPEDANCE, ZIN

Z IN  Z O
Z L  jZO tan S  Transmission Line Impedance Matching

Z O  jZ L tan S  Quarter-Wave Transformer Matching

Resonant and Non-Resonant TL

A TL with no reflected power is called flat or non-resonant line. A
NONRESONANT line has NO STANDING WAVES of current and voltage
and is either infinitely long or terminated in its characteristic
impedance.
In a resonant TL, energy is alternately transferred between magnetic
and electric fields of the distributed inductance and capacitance of
the line. A RESONANT line has STANDING WAVES of current and
voltage and is of finite length and is NOT terminated in its
characteristic impedance.  RL= Zo: the quarter wavelength line acts as a transformer
Reflection Coefficient with a 1:1 turns
The reflection coefficient (or coefficient of reflection) is a vector  RL> Zo: the quarter wavelength line acts as a step-down
quantity that represents the ratio of reflected voltage to incident transformer
voltage or reflected current to incident current.  RL< Zo: the quarter wavelength line acts as a step-up
When ZO = ZL, all the incident power is absorbed by the load. This is transformer
called a matched line. When ZO  ZL, some of the incident power is
absorbed by the load and some is returned (reflected) to the source. Stub matching
This is called an unmatched or mismatched line.
Whenever the termination on a transmission line is NOT EQUAL TO
Z0, there are reflections on the line. The amount of voltage reflected
may be found by using the equation:

REFLECTION COEFFICIENT, 
A measure of the degree of mismatch between the load and the line.
If  = 0, ZL = Zo (perfect match)
 = 1, ZL =  (open circuit)
 = -1, ZL = 0 (short circuit)

Standing Wave is an interference pattern made by two sets of

traveling waves going on opposite direction.
Standing Wave Ratio
SWR is defined as the ratio of the maximum voltage to the minimum
voltage or the maximum current to the minimum current of a
 When the load is complex impedance, it is necessary to
use Stub to remove the reactive component to match the
transmission line to the load.

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Adamson University Transmission Lines
REVIEW QUESTIONS 7. A short section of a transmission line, open or shorted that
is used to match the impedance of the line to that of an
1. What is the actual length of one-quarter wavelength of a antenna or transmitter.
coax with a velocity factor of 0.65 at 30 MHz? A. Slotted line C. Wavetrap
A. 70 m C. 1.63 m B. Stub D. Lecher wire
B. 6.5 m D. 5.33 m
8. A pulse is transmitted down a cable that has a velocity of
2. A classification of transmission line where both conductors propagation of 0.8c. The reflected signal is received 1
carry current, one conductor carries the signal and the microsec later. How far down is the cable impairment?
other is the return. A. 150m C. 100m
A. unbalanced line C. single ended B. 120m D. 200m
B. common mode line D. differential line
9. When the load does not absorb energy
3. Determine the characteristic impedance for an air A. its reflection coefficient is 1
dielectric two-wire parallel transmission line with the ratio B. the load is purely reactive
of distance between cables and radius of a balanced line is C. its SWR is infinity
equal 12.22 D. any of these
A. 150 ohms C. 200 ohms
B. 250 ohms D. 300 ohms 10. The characteristic impedance of a transmission line does
not depend upon its
4. A commonly used coaxial cable, RG-8A/U, has a A. length C. conductor spacing
capacitance of 29.5 pF/ft and inductance of 73.75 nF/ft. B. conductor diameter D. none of the above
Determine the velocity of propagation introduced by a 1-ft
section of this coaxial cable use as a delay line. 11. The maximum voltage standing wave of an RG-11/U foam
A. 2 x 10^ 8 m/s C. 1 x 10^ 8 m/s coaxial cable is 52 V and its minimum voltage is 17 V. How
B. 3 x 10^ 8 m/s D. 4 x 10^ 8 m/s many percent of the incident power is the reflected
power?
5. A generator sends 50W down a 50-ohm line. The A. 51% C. 3%
generator is matched to the line, but the load is not. If the B. 26% D. 97%
coefficient of reflection is 0.5, how much power is
reflected? 12. For an air dielectric two-wire line, the minimum
A. 7.65W C. 12.5W characteristic impedance value is
B. 37.5W D. 14W A. 85 Ω C. 90 Ω
B. 83 Ω D. 88 Ω
6. An open transmission line 6 inches long acts as a/an ___ at
a frequency of 492 MHz.
A. Parallel resonant circuit C. Inductive reactance TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
B. Series resonant circuit D. Capacitive reactance

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