DESIGN OF RHOMBIC ANTENNA USING MATLAB

A Major project of

COMMUNICATION THEORY 2

Project Based Lab Report

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

Submitted by
CH RAKSHITHA 160040169
C.GANESH 160040174
CH SAHITHYA 160040175
D.CHARITHA 160040180

Under the guidance of

DR.D.S.P.KISHOR

Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering

K L UNIVERSITY
Green Fields, Vaddeswaram
2018-19
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 K L UNIVERSITY
Green Fields, VADDESWARAM

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project based lab report entitled “DESIGN OF RHOMBIC
ANTENNA USING MATLAB” submitted by CH.RAKSHITHA(160040169),
C.GANESH(16004174), CH.SAHITHYA(160040175), D.CHARITHA(160040180) in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree Bachelor of Technology
in “Electronics & Communication Engineering” is a bonafide record of the work carried
out under our guidance and supervision at KL University during the academic year 2018-19.

Head of Department Signature of Project guide

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 ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

Our sincere thanks to DR.D.S.P.KISHOR in the Lab for their outstanding support through

out the project for the successful completion of the work.

We express our gratitude to DR.V.S.V. PRABHAKAR Head of the Department for

Electronics and communication Engineering for providing us with adequate facilities, ways

and means by which we are able to complete this project based Lab.

We would like to place on record the deep sense of gratitude to the honorable Vice

Chancellor, K L University for providing the necessary facilities to carry the project-based

Lab.

Last, but not the least, we thank all Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff of our department and

especially my classmates and my friends for their support in the completion of our project-

based Lab.

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 ABSTRACT

In this project, the set of equipment will be designed and realized a rhombic antenna
using MATLAB Software. The optimum design of rhombic antenna and its directivity is
obtained. This kind of antennas is well known thanks to their relative high gain associated to
a simple design, being the main drawback the formation of important secondary lobes in the
radiation pattern. The analysis takes into account the variations of several parameters, such as
the size of the antenna, the acute angle of the rhombus, the value of the resistive load and the
height of installation.

A rhombic antenna is a broadband directional wire antenna mostly commonly used in

the high frequency (HF) or shortwave band. It consists of one to three parallel wires
suspended above the ground in a “rhombic” (diamond) shape, supported by poles or towers at
each vertex to which the wires are attached by insulators. Each of the four sides are the same
length, typically at least one wavelength (λ) or longer. A horizontal rhombic radiates
horizontally polarized waves. Its principal advantages over other types of antenna are its
simplicity, high forward gain and wide bandwidth, the ability to operate over a wide range of
frequencies. The rhombic antenna is often claimed to be an exceptionally good antenna with
very high gain.

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 INDEX

CONTENT PAGE NO

1 Introduction 3

2 Project Description 5

3 Advantages and Disadvantages 11

`4 Source Code 13

5 Results 14

6 Applications 16

7 Conclusion 17

8 Future Scope 18

9 References 19

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 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1GENERAL INTRODUCTION

An antenna or aerial is an electrical device which converts electric power into radio
waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver.
In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an electric current oscillating at radio
frequency i.e. a high frequency alternating current (AC) to the antenna's terminals, and the
antenna radiates the energy from the current as electromagnetic waves (radio waves).
In reception, an antenna intercepts some of the power of an electromagnetic wave in order to
produce a tiny voltage at its terminals that is applied to a receiver to be amplified.

Antennas are essential components of all equipment that uses radio. They are used in
systems such as radio broadcasting, broadcast television, two-way radio, communications
receivers, radar, cell phones, and satellite communications, as well as other devices such
as garage door openers, wireless microphones, Bluetooth-enabled devices, wireless computer
networks, baby monitors, and RFID tags on merchandise.

Typically an antenna consists of an arrangement of metallic conductors (elements),

electrically connected (often through a transmission line) to the receiver or transmitter. An
oscillating current of electrons forced through the antenna by a transmitter will create an
oscillating magnetic field around the antenna elements, while the charge of the electrons also
creates an oscillating electric field along the elements. These time-varying fields radiate away
from the antenna into space as a moving transverse electromagnetic field wave. Conversely,
during reception, the oscillating electric and magnetic fields of an incoming radio wave exert
force on the electrons in the antenna elements, causing them to move back and forth, creating
oscillating currents in the antenna.

Antennas can be designed to transmit and receive radio waves in all horizontal directions
equally (Omni directional antennas), or preferentially in a particular direction
(directional or high gain antennas). In the latter case, an antenna may also include additional
elements or surfaces with no electrical connection to the transmitter or receiver, such

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as parasitic elements, parabolic reflectors or horns, which serve to direct the radio waves into
a beam or other desired radiation pattern.

The first antennas were built in 1888 by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in his
pioneering experiments to prove the existence of electromagnetic waves predicted by the
theory of Maxwell. Hertz placed dipole antennas at the focal point of parabolic reflectors for
both transmitting and receiving. He published his work in Annalen der Physik and Chemie.

Wave propagation is any of the ways in which waves travel. With respect to the direction
of the oscillation relative to the propagation direction, we can distinguish
between longitudinal wave and transverse waves. For electromagnetic waves, propagation
may occur in a vacuum as well as in a material medium. Other wave types cannot propagate
through a vacuum and need a transmission medium to exist.

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 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 PROJECT INTRODUCTION

A rhombic antenna is a broadband directional wire antenna co-invented by Edmond

Bruce and Harald Friis, in 1931, mostly commonly used in the high frequency (HF)
or shortwave band. It consists of one to three parallel wires suspended above the ground in a
"rhombic" (diamond) shape, supported by poles or towers at each vertex to which the wires
are attached by insulators. Each of the four sides are the same length, typically at least
one wavelength (λ) or longer. A horizontal rhombic antenna (picture, top right) radiates
horizontally polarised waves. Its principal advantages over other types of antenna are its
simplicity, high forward gain and wide bandwidth, the ability to operate over a wide range of
frequencies.

It is typically fed at one of the two acute (sharper angle) vertices through a balanced
transmission line. Less commonly, it can be fed with coaxial cable through
a balun transformer. The end of the wires meeting at the opposite vertex is either left open
(unconnected), or terminated with a non-inductive resistor. When resistor-terminated, the
radiation pattern is unidirectional, with the main lobe off the terminated end, so this end of
the antenna is oriented toward the target country or geographical region. When unterminated
the rhombic is bidirectional, with two opposite lobes off the two acute ends, but is not
perfectly bi-directional. This is because of energy losses caused by radiation, conductor
resistance, and coupling to the lossy soil below the antenna.

Fig:2.1.1 Structure of Rhombic Antenna

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 The rhombic antenna, like other horizontal antennas, can radiate at elevation angles
close to the horizon or at higher angles depending on its height above ground relative to the
operating frequency and its physical construction. Likewise, its beam width can be narrow or
broad, depending primarily on its length. The shallow radiation angle makes it useful for sky
wave ("skip") propagation, the dominant mode at shortwave frequencies, in which radio
waves directed at an angle into the sky reflect from layers in the ionosphere and return to
Earth beyond the horizon.

A rhombic requires a large area of land — especially if several antennas are installed
to serve a variety of geographic regions at different distances or directions or to cover widely
different frequencies. The rhombic suffers from efficiency problems due to earth losses
below the antenna, significant power-wasting spurious lobes, termination losses, and the
inability to maintain constant current along the length of the conductors. Typical radiation
efficiency is in the order of 40 to 50%. The low efficiency significantly reduces gain for a
given main lobe beam width when compared to other arrays of the same beam width.

Fig:2.1.2 Uni directional radiation pattern

At the expense of system simplicity, it is possible to improve efficiency by

recirculation of power wasted in the termination resistance of unidirectional rhombic. Use of
a re circulating termination system can move efficiency into the 70-80% range by combining
power that would have been wasted in the termination with the transmitter power. Such
systems bring a low-loss balanced line back from the termination end to the feed point
through a matching and phasing system. Energy that would otherwise be dissipated in the
termination resistance is applied in-phase with the excitation.

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2.2WORKING PRINCIPLE:

The rhombic antenna is based on the principle of travelling wave radiator or the
travelling wave antenna.

Unlike the above antennas, travelling wave antennas are non resonant so they have
inherently broad bandwidth. They are typically wire antennas multiple wavelengths long,
through which the voltage and current waves travel in one direction, instead of bouncing back
and forth to form standing waves as in resonant antennas. They have linear
polarization (except for the helical antenna). Unidirectional travelling wave antennas are
terminated by a resistor at one end equal to the antenna's characteristic resistance, to absorb
the waves from one direction. This makes them inefficient as transmitting antennas.

 Random wire - This describes the typical antenna used to receive shortwave radio,
consisting of a random length of wire either strung outdoors between supports or
indoors in a zigzag pattern along walls, connected to the receiver at one end. Can
have complex radiation patterns with several lobes at angles to the wire.
 Beverage - Simplest unidirectional travelling wave antenna. Consists of a straight
wire one to several wavelengths long, suspended near the ground, connected to
the receiver at one end and terminated by a resistor equal to its characteristic
impedance, 400 to 800Ω at the other end. Its radiation pattern has a main lobe at
a shallow angle in the sky off the terminated end. It is used for reception of sky
waves reflected off the ionosphere in long distance “skip shortwave
communication.

 Rhombic - Consists of four equal wire sections shaped like a rhombus. It is fed
by a balanced feed line at one of the acute corners, and the two sides are
connected to a resistor equal to the characteristic resistance of the antenna at the
other. It has a main lobe in a horizontal direction off the terminated end of the
rhombus. Used for sky wave communication on short wave bands.
 Helical (axial mode) - Consists of a wire in the shape of a helix mounted above a
reflecting screen. It radiates circularly polarized waves in a beam off the end, with
a typical gain of 15 dB. It is used at VHF and UHF frequencies for

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 communication with satellites and animal tracking transmitters, which use circular
polarization because it is insensitive to the relative orientation of the antennas.
 Leaky wave - Microwave antennas consisting of a waveguide or coaxial cable
with a slot or apertures cut in it so it radiates continuously along its length.

2.3 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF RHOMBIC ANTENNA:

The important factors in the design of rhombic are listed below:

 Tilt angle (α)

 Length of the leg (L)
 Height above the ground (h)
 The rhombic antenna is based on the principle of travelling wave radiator or the
travelling wave antenna.
 In rhombic antenna four long wires are connected together in such a way to form a
diamond shaped or rhombus shaped structure in the horizontal plane above the
ground.
 It can be considered as a structure with two inverted V-antennas connected in series.
It may also be considered as V-antennas connected end to end forming obtuse angles.
 The rhombic antenna is known as travelling wave rhombic antenna as its principle is
based on the principle of travelling wave antenna.
 It is also known as diamond antenna due to the similar structure formed by the long
wire antennas.
 The size and physical form of the rhombic antenna is decided by the tilt angle which
is always acute and the length of the side of the rhombus.
 Each side of the rhombus formed by the wires is called the leg of the rhombic
antenna.

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 Fig:2.3.1 Radiation Pattern in each leg

2.3.1 Relative field intensity coinciding with main axis of rhombus:

The radiation pattern of an antenna is a plot of the relative field strength of the radio
waves emitted by the antenna at different angles. It is typically represented by a three-
dimensional graph, or polar plots of the horizontal and vertical cross sections. The radiation
of many antennas shows a pattern of maxima or "lobes" at various angles, separated by
"nulls", angles where the radiation falls to zero. This is because the radio waves emitted by
different parts of the antenna typically interfere, causing maxima at angles where the radio
waves arrive at distant points in phase, and zero radiation at other angles where the radio
waves arrive out of phase. Field strength or intensity means the magnitude of a vector-
valued field. For example, electromagnetic field results in both electric field
strength and magnetic field strength. As an application, in radio
frequency telecommunications, the signal strength excites a receiving antenna and thereby
induces a voltage at a specific frequency and polarization in order to provide an input signal
to a radio receiver.

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  2h    L  
2 cos sin  sin sin   sin  1  cos  sin  
        
E
(1  cos  sin  )

Where Φ= tilt angle = (90-β)

β= angle of elevation

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 h = height above ground

L = length of leg in ƛ

ƛ = wavelength

Above expression for relative field intensity is based on the following assumptions
such as current in each leg is constant non mutual coupling and below the horizontal rhombic
structure the plane is perfectly conductive. To have directivity in specific direction at a
particular frequency the optimum conditions of L, h and α are given by the following
equation.

2 cos [sin( 2h' sin  )][sin( L' )(1  cos  sin  )] 2

E
(1  cos  sin  )

Hence we can write equations for h, L and Φ as,

E  k sin( 2h' sin  )

2 cos [sin( L' )(1  cos  sin  )] 2

Where k 
(1  cos  sin  )

h
h’=


L
L’=


Further equation (3) can be modified as,

E= k '[sin( L' )(1  cos  sin  )] 2

2 cos [sin( 2h' sin  )]

Where k’=
1  cos  sin 

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 3. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

3.1 ADVANTAGES:

 The input impedance and radiation patterns don’t vary rapidly over a considerably
large range as compared to any other radiating system.
 It is a broadband antenna with a highly directive pattern where radiated or received
power is maximum along the main axis which is the longer diagonal of the rhombic
antenna.
 Due to high efficiency, it is mainly used for radio communication.
 It is most suitable for the applications where space for installation of the antenna is
not critical.
 It is used for shortwave application with very low height.
 Its input impedance is twice as that of single side radiator.
 Easier to construct
 High Gain can be achieved
 Input Impedance and Radiation Pattern are relatively constant
 Radiation efficiency is 40-50% which can be enhanced to 70-80 %

3.2 DISADVANTAGES:

 It requires very large space for installation.

 It produces number of side lobes along with highly directive major lobe.
 It terminates half of the output power in the terminating impedance , hence the
transmission efficiency is poor.
 It is not perfectly bi-directional.
 Another disadvantage is that the horizontal and vertical patterns depend on each
other.

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 Obtaining high vertical-angle radiation is impossible except with a very broad
horizontal pattern and low gain.
 Rhombic antennas are used, however, for long-distance sky wave coverage at the
high frequencies. Under these conditions low vertical angles of radiation (less than
20 degrees) are desirable.
 With the rhombic antenna, a considerable amount of the input power is dissipated
uselessly in the terminating resistor. However, this resistor is necessary to make
the antenna unidirectional. The great gain of the antenna more than makes up for
this loss.

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 4.SOURCE CODE

4.1 MATLAB:
4.1.1 Radiation pattern of rhombic antenna:
clc;
clear all;
close all;
t=0:0.01:2*pi;
beta=pi/4;
h=input('Enter the height from the ground= ');
lambda=input('Enter the wavelength= ');
L=input('Enter the length of the leg= ');
E=((2.*cos(t).*(sin(2*pi*h*sin(beta)/lambda))).*(sin(pi*L/lambda).*(cos(beta)
.*sin(t)).^2))./(1-cos(beta).*sin(t));
polar(t, E);

4.1.2 Design of optimum rhombic antenna:

clc;
clear all;
close all;
t=0:0.01:2*pi;
beta=pi/4;
E=((2.*cos(t).*(sin(2*pi/4))).*(sin(pi/2*sin(beta).^2).*(1-cos(beta).*sin(t)).^2))./(1-
cos(beta).*sin(t));
polar(t, E);

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 5. RESULTS
5.1 MATLAB:

Enter the height from the ground=1

Enter the wavelength=2

Enter the length of the leg=3

Fig 5.1.1 Radiation pattern of rhombic antenna

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Fig 5.1.1 Optimum design of rhombic antenna

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 6. APPLICATIONS

 Radio Communication

 Short Wave Radio Broadcasting

 Long Distance Communications

 Point to Point Communications

 High Frequency Transmission And Reception

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 7. CONCLUSION

The rhombic antenna is a wideband progressive wave antenna, made of two acute-
angle V-beams placed end-to-end and terminated in an open circuit or in a resistive load.
Each side of the antenna is made of two legs of length "L" and as a whole the antenna has the
shape of a rhombus, that is, the opposite angles are of the same value.
Although the antenna has the important advantage of presenting impedance with
slight variations in the entire HF band, the radiation patterns are highly frequency dependant,
showing changes in the gain, the take-off angle of the main lobe and the number of secondary
lobes, which in some cases may present significant amplitudes.
Several simulations have been performed, taking into account the following parameters of
design:
 F: frequency of design (MHz).
 L: leg length (m).
 A: acute angle of rhombus (degrees).
 R: load resistance (ohms).
 H: height of installation (m).

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 8. FUTURE SCOPE

1. Horizontal patterns for stacked rhombic arrays will continue to be calculated for both
the phi-polarized and theta-polarized components of the radiated field.

2. Preparation of a detailed report on the circular travelling wave antenna will be

continued. Radiation patterns, both theoretical and experimental, will be obtained at
various frequencies, and in addition the radiation pattern of two concentric antennas
will be further investigated.

3. Work will proceed on angle-of-arrival data

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 9. REFERENCES

1. Antenna theory analysis and design by A.Balanis (3rd Edition)

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhombic_antenna

3. http://www.comrod.com/getfile.php/Datasheets/S%20Antennas/RHOMBIC.pdf

4. http://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/rhombic/text.php

5. http://www.w8ji.com/rhombic_antennas.htm

6. http:// qwww.jpier.org/PIER/pier89/05.08111907.pdf

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