ECE 381A
Introductory Electromagnetics
Course Level
Units
Instructor(s)
Prerequisite(s)
Course Texts
Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics by F. T. Ulaby, et al., Ed. 8 (Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2020).
Schedule
Course Description
Required/elective: Required EE, Elective CE
Specific Course Information:
2021-2022 Catalog Data: Electrostatic and magnetostatic fields; Maxwell's equations; introduction to plane waves, transmission lines, and sources.
Learning Outcomes
Specific Goals for the Course:
Outcomes of Instruction: By the end of this course the student will be able to:
- Calculate the reflection and transmission coefficients of uniform plane waves at planar interfaces.
- Explain the propagation of signals along lossless and lossy transmission lines in the frequency and time domains.
- Calculate the solutions of the one-dimensional transmission line equations and the propagation characteristics of basic transmission line configurations.
- Plot the voltage distribution vs. distance and time along a loaded transmission line.
- Calculate the input impedance and standing wave pattern of a loaded transmission line.
- Describe techniques for matching a loaded transmission line.
- Design single-stub matching networks.
- Describe the operation/principles of quarter-wave transformers.
- Perform vector calculus operations such as the gradient, the divergence and the curl.
- Identify and list Maxwell’s equations in time domain, as well as associated boundary conditions.
- Apply Coulomb’s law to find the force on a charge caused by other charges.
- Apply Gauss’ law to determine the electric field caused by a simple charge distribution.
- Calculate the electrostatic potential of simple charge distributions.
- Explain the effects of conducting and dielectric materials on field quantities.
- List the boundary conditions for the electric field vectors on the interface of two different materials.
- Calculate the capacitance for basic configurations that reduce to one-dimensional systems.
- Describe the conservation of charge and Ohm’s laws and write them in vector calculus format.
- Apply Ampere’s force law to calculate the force between constant currents of simple configurations.
- Apply the Biot-Savart law to calculate the magnetic flux density caused by a simple current configuration.
- Apply Ampere’s law to calculate the magnetic field produced by simple current configurations.
- Identify the magnetostatic potential and flux.
- List the boundary conditions for the magnetic field vectors on the interface of two different materials.
- Calculate the inductance and resistance for simple actual physical devices.
- Identify the time-varying Faraday and Ampere laws (quasi-statics).
- Calculate the induction effects from time-varying magnetic fields.
- Identify the Poynting vector and use it to calculate the power flow produced by electromagnetic fields.
- Identify Maxwell’s equations in the frequency domain.
- Identify the wave equation.
- Explain the propagation of one-dimensional plane waves in lossless and lossy materials.
- List the various polarizations of uniform plane waves.
Course Topics
Brief list of topics to be covered:
- Transmission lines: Signals propagating along transmission lines with and without loads, impedance matching and maximum power transfer to a load
- Electrostatics
- Magnetostatics
- Quasi-statics
- Time-varying fields and Maxwell's equations
- Uniform plane waves in lossless and lossy media
- Antennas
- Radiated waves
Relationship to Student Outcomes
ECE 381A contributes directly to the following specific electrical and computer engineering student outcomes of the ECE department:
1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
7. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.