EXPERIMENT 4: STANDING WAVE PATTERN

I. OBJECTIVES
1. To measure and plot the standing wave pattern on a lumped element transmission
line of nodes 0 to 20 for an open, shorted, matched, and unmatched line.
2. To be able to measure the voltage of each nodes and the Standing Wave Ratio
(SWR) for an open, shorted, matched, and unmatched line.

II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) is the ratio of the maximum magnitude or amplitude
of a standing wave to its minimum magnitude. It indicates whether there is an
impedance mismatch between the load and the internal impedance on a radio
frequency transmission line, or waveguide. Such mismatches indicate that there are
standing waves along the line that can reduce its power transmission efficiency.
Standing waves are created when a transmission line does not terminate correctly.
As a result, the traveling wave, also known as the incident wave, gets reflected either
completely or partially at the receiving end. Together, the incident and reflected
waves give rise to standing waves along the line. At some points along the
transmission line, the two waves or signals are in phase, so they add together, leading
to maximum voltage and current. These points are known as the voltage or current
maxima. At other points, the two waves are out of phase, so the resultant voltage and
current will fall to the minimum which is also referred to as voltage or current
minima. Ultimately, the amplitude of standing waves indicates the amount of
reflection along the transmission line.
The SWR refers to the RF voltage at a loo (maxima) to the RF voltage at a node
(minima) or the ratio of the RF current at a loop (maxima) to the RF current at a node
(minima).
Formula for SWR:

When SWR refers to the ratio of forward and reflected voltages, it is known as
voltage standing wave ratio, or VSWR. VSWR is the ratio of the maximum voltage
magnitude to minimum voltage magnitude on a lossless line.

III. PROCEDURES
1. Prepare the components that will be used for the experiment.
 2. Create the circuit for each transmission line category: Open, Shorted, Matched,
and Unmatched.
3. Measure and gather the needed data.
4. Record the acquired data and compute for the SWR for each transmission line
category.

IV. MATERIALS
 Solderless breadboard (large enough to connect 50 components).
 #22 gauge hookup wire for breadboard wiring
 Nineteen 0.068 uF capacitors. A good capacitor to use is the
KemetC322C683K5R5HA (Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors MLCC - Leaded 50
volts0.068uF 10% X7R, data sheet). Can be ordered from Mouser Electronics
here.
 Two 0.033 uF capacitors. A good capacitor to use is the KemetC322C333J1R5TA
(Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor MLCC - Leaded 100 volts0.033uF 5% X7R, data
sheet). Can be ordered from Mouser Electronics here.
 Twenty 150 uH inductors. For best results you want low loss inductors. A good
inductor to use is the Bourns RLB00712-151KL (data sheet). Can be ordered
from Mouser Electronics here.
 Oscilloscope
 Function generator
 Wire strippers/cutters

V. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Figure 1: Schematic Diagram

 Figure 2: Function Generator Settings

VI. DATA AND RESULTS

Table 1: Open Line
Node Number Measurement
0 1.61 V
1 886 mV
2 95.7 mV
3 701 mV
4 1.45 V
5 2.10 V
6 2.60 V
7 2.92 V
8 3.05 V
9 2.96 V
10 2.66 V
11 2.18 V
12 1.55 V
13 817 mV
14 24.0 mV
15 771 mV
16 1.51 V
17 2.15 V
18 2.64 V
19 2.94 V
20 3.05 V
 Figure 3: Schematic Diagram for Open Line

Table 2: Shorted Line

Node Number Measurement
0 2.81 V
1 3.18 V
2 3.32 V
3 3.24 V
4 2.93 V
5 2.42 V
6 1.74 V
7 942 mV
8 78.3 mV
9 791 mV
10 1.61 V
11 2.31 V
12 2.85 V
13 3.20 V
14 3.32 V
15 3.22 V
16 2.89 V
17 2.37 V
18 1.67 V
19 867 mV
20 0V
 Figure 4: Schematic Diagram for Shorted Line

Table 3: Matched Line

Node Number Measurement
0 1.53 V
1 1.46 V
2 1.43 V
3 1.45 V
4 1.51 V
5 1.59 V
6 1.67 V
7 1.72 V
8 1.74 V
9 1.73 V
10 1.67 V
11 1.60 V
12 1.52 V
13 1.46 V
14 1.43 V
15 1.46 V
16 1.52 V
17 1.60 V
18 1.67 V
19 1.73 V
20 1.74 V
 Figure 5: Schematic Diagram for Matched Line

Table 4: Unmatched Line

Node Number Measurement
0 1.42 V
1 942 mV
2 641 mV
3 842 mV
4 1.30 V
5 1.76 V
6 2.14 V
7 2.38 V
8 2.47 V
9 2.40 V
10 2.18 V
11 1.82 V
12 1.37 V
13 903 mV
14 637 mV
15 878 mV
16 1.35 V
17 1.80 V
18 2.16 V
19 2.39 V
20 2.47 V
 Figure 6: Schematic Diagram for Unmatched Line

Table 5: VSWR
VSWR Theoretical Value Experimental Value
Open Line ∞ 127.083
Shorted Line ∞ ∞
Matched Line 1 1.217
Unmatched Line 0.313 3.878

VII. SAMPLE COMPUTATIONS

Theoretical Value Experimental Value
Open Line: Open Line:
ZL ∞ V max 3.05V
= =∞ = =127.083
Z O 47 Ω V min 24.0 mV

Shorted Line: Shorted Line:

Z O 47 Ω V max 3.32V
= =∞ = =∞
ZL 0 V min 0V

Matched Line: Matched Line:

Z L 47 Ω V max 1.74 V
= =1 = =1.217
Z O 47 Ω V min 1.43 V

Unmatched Line: Unmatched Line:

 Z L 47 Ω V max 2.47 V
= =0.313 = =3.878
Z O 150 Ω V min 637 mV

VIII. ANALYSIS
For this experiment, we aim to measure and plot the standing wave pattern for
each lumped-element transmission line category: Open, Shorted, Matched, and
Unmatched. We needed to get/measure the voltage of the transmission line from
nodes 0 to 20. As shown on the schematic diagram, the inductors are in series and the
capacitors are in parallel. For an Open Line, the maximum voltage that we measured
is located on nodes 8 and 20 which is 3.05 V and the minimum voltage is on node 14
which is 24.0 mV. The next transmission line is a Shorted Line wherein we got a
value of 3.32 V for its maximum voltage that was located on nodes 2 and 14 and 0 V
for its minimum voltage recorded on node 20. As observed in the table of acquired
values, it was seen that the measured voltage for nodes 0 to 20 in an Open and
Shorted Line were opposite. The nodes on the Open Line where the minimum voltage
was recorded have the maximum voltage on a Shorted Line. Another transmission
line category was a Matched Line. We got a value of 1.74 V for its maximum voltage
located at nodes 8 and 20 and 1.43 V for its minimum voltage located at nodes 2 and
14. In a Matched Line, we noticed that the measured voltage values for each node are
almost the same or equal. The last transmission line is an Unmatched Line. For this
transmission line, the value for the maximum voltage recorded is 2.47 V which was
located on nodes 8 and 20 and 637 mV for its minimum voltage located on node 14.
In this category, we observed that the maximum and minimum voltage values are
located on the same nodes as in the Open Line.

IX. CONCLUSION
In this experiment, we were able to measure the voltage and Standing Wave Ratio
and plot the standing wave pattern on a lumped element transmission line of nodes 0
to 20 for an open, shorted, matched, and unmatched line using Multisim. We
understood further the difference between an Open, Sorted, Matched and Unmatched
Line. In an open line, when the voltage is at maximum the current is at the minimum
which is the opposite of Shorted Line wherein when the voltage is at a minimum the
current will be at a maximum. Moreover, a matched line has an equal load and
characteristic impedance which means that the transmission line is properly
terminated hence the flat line on the waveform. Lastly, for a mismatched line, there
are two waves presented on the waveform: the incident and reflected waveforms
which indicate that the transmission line is not properly terminated. We were also
able to plot the standing wave pattern for each transmission line category as shown in
the diagrams. Since all the objectives were met, we can conclude that this experiment
was a success.
X. GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. A standing wave can be produced by:
- A standing wave can be produced by two similar waves superposing while
traveling in the opposite direction.

2. What are stationary waves?

- Refers to the waves of the same frequency and amplitude that are moving with
the same speed in the opposite direction.

3. In a standing wave, in a pipe open at both ends, the first harmonic has?
- 1 node and 2 anti-nodes.

4. Determine the reflection coefficient for a transmission line with incident voltage
Ei =0.5V . Find the SWR.
Solution:
Er 1+|Γ |
Γ= SWR=
Ei 1−|Γ|
0.5 1+0.67
Γ= SWR=
0.75 1−0.67
Γ =0.67 SWR=5.06

5. Find the SWR for a transmission line with maximum voltage standing wave
amplitudeV max =9 V , and minimum voltage standing wave amplitude of
V min =0.5 V .
Solution:
V max
SWR=
V min
9V
SWR=
0.5 V
SWR=¿

6. A 7.10 m rope is shaken until a standing wave pattern with 9 nodes appears. What
is the wavelength of the standing wave?
Solution:
2L
λ n=
n
2(7.10)
λ 8=
8
 14.20
λ 8=
8
λ 8=1.78 m

XI. REFERENCES
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/standing-wave-ratio-SWR-VWSR-
IWSR#:~:text=Standing%20wave%20ratio%20(SWR)%20is,)%20transmission
%20line%2C%20or%20waveguide.

https://testbook.com/objective-questions/mcq-on-standing-waves--
5eea6a1339140f30f369f06b