Plane wave coupling to multiple conductor transmission lines above a lossy earth

The current induced on an infinite multiple conductor transmission line located above a lossy homogeneous medium due to a transient plane wave is discussed. An exact solution is formulated in the frequency domain using a spatial transform technique. The widely utilized quasi-TEM approximation is derived directly from the exact solution with emphasis on the physical consequences of the assumptions made. Both frequency domain and time domain numerical results are presented for typical transmission structures and documented electromagnetic pulse (EMP) excitations. Comparison of the quasi-TEM approximation to the exact solution is made in order to study the validity of its application in EMP coupling problems. The modeling of the EMP source as an incident plane wave is examined by comparing the induced current due to a dipole source with its steepest-descent contribution