Adding a Real Ground Plane

A real (i.e., imperfect or lossy) ground plane, located on the xy-plane (Z = 0), can be added to the model using the following procedure:

1. Navigate to the Setup tab > Environment panel.
2. Select the Real option in the Ground Plane box (see Fig. 1).
3. Specify the Real Ground Option:
   • Sommerfeld-Wait
   • Reflection Coefficients
   • Radial Wire Ground Screen
   • Sommerfeld-Norton
4. Set the ground Permittivity and Conductivity. If a Radial Wire Ground Screen is selected, also specify the radial length, number of radials, and wire radius.

The ground plane is represented as a square with cross diagonals to indicate its position (see Fig. 2). Note that this is only a symbolic representation, as the ground plane itself is infinite in extent. When a Radial Wire Ground Screen is selected, the radial wires lying on the ground will be displayed instead of the ground plane symbol (see Fig. 3).

Interactive Ground Model Selection Tools

To help you select the appropriate real ground model, you can use the Loss Tangent Calculator and Ground Plane Selector provided below.

These tools recommend the best ground model for your analysis by considering the wire height, ground connections, operating frequency, and the conductivity $\sigma$ and relative permittivity $\varepsilon_r$ of the soil.

Please remember that these recommendations are intended as a guided starting point. In practical RF engineering, “gray zones” or transition boundaries often exist between theoretical models. If your parameters fall near one of these boundaries, multiple formulations may provide sufficiently accurate results for your specific application.