Unit 3 - Step 4
Presented to:
M OF 2017
Activities to develop
We consider a generator and a load connected across one transmission line (e.
g. a coaxial cable)
Characteristic Impedance - Z0
This page will end with special cases of the characteristic Impedance. If
R'=G'=0, then the conductors of the transmission line are perfectly conducting
(so R'=0) and the dielectric medium that separates the conductors has zero
conductivity (so that G'=0). In this case, the line is referred to as a Lossless
Line. The characteristic impedance becomes:
Another type of line of interest is the distortion less line This type of line may
contain loss (so that the voltage dies off somewhat as it propagates down the
line), but the magnitude of the attenuation is frequency-independent, and the
phase constant varies linearly with frequency. This is desirable; similar to filter
theory, this would be considered "linear phase" - that is, signals that come out
of the transmission line might be attenuated, but have the same shape. The
criteria for this is:
http://www.antenna-theory.com/tutorial/txline/transmission2.php
At the terminals where the transmission line is connected to the load, the
overall voltage must be given by:
Recall the expressions for the voltage and current on the line (derived on the
previous page):
If we plug this into equation [1] (note that z is fixed, because we are
evaluating this at a specific point, the end of the transmission line), we obtain:
The ratio of the reflected voltage amplitude to that of the forward voltage
amplitude is the voltage reflection coefficient. This can be solved for via the
above equation:
The reflection coefficient is usually denoted by the symbol gamma. Note that
the magnitude of the reflection coefficient does not depend on the length of
the line, only the load impedance and the impedance of the transmission line.
Also, note that if ZL=Z0, then the line is "matched". In this case, there is no
mismatch loss and all power is transferred to the load. At this point, you
should begin to understand the importance of impedance matching: grossly
mismatched impedances will lead to most of the power reflected away from the
load.
Standing Waves
We'll now look at standing waves on the transmission line. Assuming the
propagation constant is purely imaginary (lossless line), We can re-write the
voltage and current waves as:
If we plot the voltage along the transmission line, we observe a series of peaks
and minimums, which repeat a full cycle every half-wavelength. If gamma
equals 0.5 (purely real), then the magnitude of the voltage would appear as:
Similarly, if gamma equals zero (no mismatch loss) the magnitude of the
voltage would appear as:
Finally, if gamma has a magnitude of 1 (this occurs, for instance, if the load is
entirely reactive while the transmission line has a Z0 that is real), then the
magnitude of the voltage would appear as:
One thing that becomes obvious is that the ratio of Vmax to Vmin becomes
larger as the reflection coefficient increases. That is, if the ratio of Vmax to
Vmin is one, then there are no standing waves, and the impedance of the line
is perfectly matched to the load. If the ratio of Vmax to Vmin is infinite, then
the magnitude of the reflection coefficient is 1, so that all power is reflected.
Hence, this ratio, known as the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) or
standing wave ratio is a measure of how well matched a transmission line is to
a load. It is defined as:
3. What occurs with the voltage and current in a line with the
following conditions: line terminated in its characteristic
impedance, line terminated in a short and line terminated in an
open?
4. What is the voltage reflection coefficient and what is an ideal value
for a transmission system?
5. What is the effect of Lossy line on voltage and current waves?
6. In the Smith Chart identify a 𝑍𝐿 =∝, a 𝑍𝐿 = 0, two resistive loads
and two complex loads. You have to assume the characteristic
impedance.
Choose one of the following problems, solve it and share the
solution in the forum. Perform a critical analysis on the group
members’ contributions and reply this in the forum.