COLUMBAN COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
OLONGAPO CITY
RESAERCH WORK NO. 3
VELOCITY FACTOR, TRANSMISSION LINE LENGTH AND SPECIFICATIONS
SUBMITTED BY: DATE DUE:
OCAMPO, SEAN MATTHEW L. September 24, 2020
SUBMITTED TO: DATE SUBMITTED:
ENGR. REYDIN REYES September 24, 2020
Velocity Factor
The velocity factor (VF), also called wave propagation speed or velocity of propagation (VoP or υp),
of a transmission medium is the ratio of the speed at which a wavefront (of an electromagnetic signal,
a radio signal, a light pulse in an optical fibre or a change of the electrical voltage on a copper wire)
passes through the medium, to the speed of light in vacuum. For optical signals, the velocity factor is the
reciprocal of the refractive index.
The speed of radio signals in vacuum, for example, is the speed of light, and so the velocity factor of a
radio wave in vacuum is unity, or 100%. In electrical cables, the velocity factor mainly depends on the
insulating material (see table below).
The use of the terms velocity of propagation and wave propagation speed to mean a ratio of speeds is
confined to the computer networking and cable industries. In a general science and engineering context,
these terms would be understood to mean a true speed or velocity in units of distance per time,
while velocity factor is used for the ratio.
Typical velocity factors
Velocity factor is an important characteristic of communication media such as category 5 cables and
radio transmission lines. Plenum data cable typically has a VF between 0.42 and 0.72 (42% to 72% of the
speed of light in vacuum) and riser cable around 0.70. A VF of 0.70 corresponds to a speed of
approximately 210,000,000 m/s or 4.76 ns per metre.
Minimum velocity factors for network cables
VF (%) Cable Ethernet physical layer
74–79 Cat-7 twisted pair
77 RG-8/U Minimum for 10BASE5
67 Optical fiber Minimum for 10BASE-FL, 100BASE-FX, ...
65 RG-58A/U Minimum for 10BASE2
65 Cat-6A twisted pair 10GBASE-T
64 Cat-5e twisted pair 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T
58.5 Cat-3 twisted pair Minimum for 10BASE-T
Some typical velocity factors for radio communications cables provided in handbooks and texts are given
in the following table:
VF (%) Transmission line
95–99 Open-wire "Ladder" Line
93 HJ8-50B 3-inch Heliax coaxial cable (air dielectric)
86 RG-8 Belden 7810A coaxial cable (gas-injected foam high-density polyethylene)
83 RG-6 Belden 1189A coaxial cable, RG-11 Belden 1523A coaxial cable
82 RG-8X Belden 9258 coaxial cable (foamed polyethylene dielectric)
80 Belden 9085 twin-lead
77 RG-8/U generic (foamed polyethylene)
66 Belden 8723 twin shielded twisted pair stranded (polypropylene insulator)
66 RG-213 CXP213 (solid polyethylene dielectric)
Calculating velocity factor
Electric wave
VF equals the reciprocal of the square root of the dielectric constant (relative permittivity), κ or , єr of the
material through which the signal passes:
in the usual case where the relative permeability, µr, is 1. In the most general case:
which includes unusual magnetic conducting materials, such as ferrite.
The velocity factor for a lossless transmission line is given by:
where L’ is the distributed inductance (in henries per unit length), C’ is the capacitance between the two
conductors (in farads per unit length), and co is the speed of light in vacuum.
Optical wave
VF equals the reciprocal of the refractive index n of the medium, usually optical fiber.
Coax Cable Velocity Factor
The velocity factor of a coax cable is important in applications where phasing of signals is important –
phased antennas, matching stubs and many other applications need a knowledge of the velocity factor.
The coax cable velocity factor is a parameter that is always mention in the datasheets for the different
types of coaxial feeder.
The velocity factor is an important specification in some instances, although ordinary applications of
simply feeding an antenna it may not be of importance.
The coax cable velocity factor reflects the fact that the speed at which a signal travels within a coax cable
is not the same as an electromagnetic wave travelling in free space: it is reduced by a factor equal to the
velocity factor.
Coax velocity factor basics
The speed at which the signal travels in a medium is normally given the designation Vp or Vg. This is the
speed at which the signal travels in comparison to that of a signal travelling in free space. Thus Vp for a
signal travelling at the speed of light would be 1.0, and for one travelling at half the speed of light it
would be 0.5.
It can be shown that the velocity factor of the cable is the reciprocal of the square root of the dielectric
constant:
Coax cable electrical length
One important factor of a coax cable in some applications is the wavelength of the signals travelling in it.
In the same way that the wavelength of a signal is the speed of light divided by the frequency for free
space, the same is also true in any other medium. As the speed of the wave has been reduced, so too the
wavelength is reduced by the same factor. Travelling at a slower speed the signal cannot travel as far in
the same time.
Thus, if the velocity factor of the coax cable is 0.66, then the wavelength is 0.66 times the wavelength in
free space.
In some instances, lengths of coax cable are cut to a specific length to act as an impedance transformer or
a resonant circuit, then this needs to be taken into consideration when determining the required length of
coax cable.
The advantage of using a coax cable with a low velocity factor is that the length of coax cable required for
the resonant length is shorter than if it had a figure approaching 1. This can reduce the space required for
items like resonant stubs. It can also reduce the cost as less coax is needed!
LENGTH OF A TRANSMISSION LINE
A transmission line is considered to be electrically short when its physical length is short compared to a
quarter-wavelength 1/4 l) of the energy it is to carry.
A transmission line is electrically long when its physical length is long compared to a quarter-wavelength
of the energy it is to carry. You must understand that the terms "short" and "long" are relative ones. For
example, a line that has a physical length of 3 meters (approximately 10 feet) is considered quite short
electrically if it transmits a radio frequency of 30 kilohertz. On the other hand, the same transmission line
is considered electrically long if it transmits a frequency of 30,000 megahertz.
When power is applied to a very short transmission line, practically all of it reaches the load at the output
end of the line. This very short transmission line is usually considered to have practically no electrical
properties of its own, except for a small amount of resistance.
However, the picture changes considerably when a long line is used. Since most transmission lines are
electrically long (because of the distance from transmitter to antenna), the properties of such lines must be
considered. Frequently, the voltage necessary to drive a current through a long line is considerably greater
than the amount that can be accounted for by the impedance of the load in series with the resistance of the
line.
There are three main types of Overhead Transmission Lines:
1. Short transmission line – The line length is up to 60 km and the line voltage is comparatively low
less than 20KV.
2. Medium transmission line – The line length is between 60 km to 160 km and the line voltage is
between 20kV to 100kV.
3. Long transmission line – The line length is more than 160 km and the line voltage is high greater
than 100KV.
Whatever may be the category of transmission line, the main aim is to transmit power from one end to
another.
Like other electrical system, the transmission network also will have some power loss and voltage drop
during transmitting power from sending end to receiving end. Hence, performance of transmission line
can be determined by its efficiency and voltage regulation.
Voltage regulation of transmission line is measure of change of receiving end voltage from no-load to full
load condition.
Every transmission line will have three basic electrical parameters. The conductors of the line will have
electrical resistance, inductance, and capacitance. As the transmission line is a set of conductors being run
from one place to another supported by transmission towers, the parameters are distributed uniformly
along the line.
The electrical power is transmitted over a transmission line with a speed of light that is 3 × 108 m ⁄ sec.
Frequency of the power is 50 Hz. The wave length of the voltage and current of the power can be
determined by the equation given below,
f.λ = v where, f is power frequency, λ is wave length and υ is the speed of light.
Hence, the wave length of the transmitting power is quite long compared to the generally used line length
of transmission line.
For this reason, the transmission line, with length less than 160 km, the parameters are assumed to be
lumped and not distributed. Such lines are known as electrically short transmission line. This electrically
short transmission lines are again categorized as short transmission line (length up to 60 km) and medium
transmission line (length between 60 and 160 km). The capacitive parameter of short transmission line is
ignored whereas in case of medium length line the, capacitance is assumed to be lumped at the middle of
the line or half of the capacitance may be considered to be lumped at each ends of the transmission line.
Lines with length more than 160 km, the parameters are considered to be distributed over the line. This is
called long transmission line.
Transmission Lines Components
Transmission Line Structures The primary functions of transmission line structures are to provide
mechanical support to conductors. This is achieved by maintaining mechanical integrity without
permanent structural deformation under ultimate load conditions whilst preserving structure geometry to
retain operational electrical clearances under prescribed serviceability and ultimate load conditions.
Secondary functions of transmission line structures are to:
a) Ensure safety of people and the environment;
b) Maintain structure geometry to preserve maintenance-safe approach distances for serviceability and
ultimate load conditions;
c) Provide an electrical path to earth for fault currents; and
d) Provide a whole-of-life cost-effective service.
Structure types include free-standing and guyed:
a) Lattice towers / masts;
b) Steel tubular poles;
c) Stobie poles; and
d) Concrete poles.
Typical foundations of transmission line structures are:
a) Bored piers;
b) Mass concrete;
c) Driven / cast in-situ piles;
d) Soil / rock anchors; and
e) Special Foundations (e.g. raft foundations).
Transmission Line Conductors
The primary function of transmission line conductor systems is to transfer electrical power between
designated locations, within prescribed performance, operating and environmental conditions.
Secondary functions of transmission line conductors are to:
a) Maintain electrical safety and minimize adverse effects on the environment; and
b) Provide a whole-of-life cost-effective service.
Transmission Line Insulators
Transmission line insulation has two primary functions:
a) To insulate energized components from earthed structures at rated operating voltages and specified
switching and lightning impulses; and
b) To support the conductor system up to ultimate mechanical load limits and transfer the mechanical
loads to structure.
Transmission line hardware has four primary functions:
a) To support the Insulator system up to electrical load limits;
b) To support the Insulator system up to ultimate mechanical load limits;
c) To provide effective attachment interface between Conductor and Insulators to securely transfer loads
to the structure; and
d) To provide a whole-of-life cost effective service.
Transmission Line Earthing
The primary functional requirement of a transmission line earthing system is to:
a) Provide an electrical path for lightning and fault currents to earth, to ensure safety of people, assets and
the environment;
b) Ensure that faults are cleared within the NER time limits, transmission line components are not
damaged, and the network performance (due to lightning) is within agreed NER limits; and
c) Provide an earth (i.e. zero) potential reference to ground under normal circuit conditions for the
dissipation of leakage currents.
Secondary functional requirements of a transmission earthing system for its design life are to:
a) Maintain electrical safety and minimize adverse effects on the environment;
b) Provide an effective technical solution; and
c) Provide a whole-of-life cost-effective service.
Transmission Line Earthing relates to:
a) Aerial earthing – this sub-system includes shield-wire and OPGW and its various supporting hardware
and fittings (strain assembly, suspension assembly, spark-gap insulators, vibration dampers, joints and
marker balls);
b) Ground level earthing – this sub-system includes buried earth stakes, earth bounds PVC cable, copper
strap), cable lugs, fasteners and clamps. This earthing sub-system forms a dedicated electrical connection
between the structure and the soil surrounding it. This is in addition to the electrical connection provided
by the embedded structure / foundation and soil; and
c) Communication hardware – this sub-system includes the interface fibre hardware for OPGW assets.
This includes fibre splice boxes, fibre termination boxes, etc.
Transmission High Voltage Cables
The primary functions of transmission high voltage cables are to transfer electrical power between
designated locations, within prescribed performance, operating and environmental conditions and to
insulate energized components from earthed structures at rated operating voltages and specified switching
and lightning impulses.
Secondary functions of transmission high voltage cables are to:
a) Maintain electrical safety and minimize adverse effects on the environment;
b) Provide electrical insulation; and
c) Provide a whole-of-life cost-effective service.
The high voltage cable components are:
a) Cable and accessories including joints, sealing ends, link boxes, partial discharge detection equipment;
b) Condition Monitoring System / Distributed Temperature Sensor; and
c) Cable trench, joint bays, link box equipment pits, support structures, expansion chambers.
REFERENCES:
https://www.tpub.com/neets/book10/41c.htm
https://www.electrical4u.com/performance-of-transmission-
line/#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20main%20types,is%20between%2020kV%20to%20100kV.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_factor
https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/antennas-propagation/rf-feeders-transmission-lines/coaxial-
cable-velocity-factor.php
https://www.electranet.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1-03-FR-09-Transmission-Line-General-
Requirements-Including-Typical-Overhead-Line-Structures.pdf
