Power line communication de-noising study based on chaotic spread spectrum and wavelet

In this letter, the weighted fractional Fourier transform (WFRFT) is performed on the chaotic sequence to enhance the security of the chaotic direct sequence spread spectrum (CD3S) communication, and a WFRFT-CD3S system that spreads the information bits through the WFRFT-chaotic sequence is proposed. In the proposed system, the transmitter scrambles the phase space trajectory of the chaotic sequence through WFRFT and make the distribution of the transmitted signal be Gaussian-like. The receiver synchronizes the WFRFT-chaotic sequence through bidirectional correlation search and demodulates the information through the synchronized local WFRFT-chaotic sequence. Simulations are implemented to evaluate the security performance, synchronization performance, and demodulation performance of the proposed system.

The research on the balance of chaotic sequence has important significance to spread-spectrum communication. The relationship between the balance and the parameter of four typical chaotic maps (Chebyshev, improved Logistic, Logistic and Tent) was discussed. The new numeric ranges of initial value and fractal parameter were decided, which provided reference for the generation of chaotic spread-spectrum sequence. Through the graphs of the four chaotic sequences' balance and the error-bit rate performance of these systems with the four chaotic sequences' map parameters, the new numeric ranges were validated. Both simulation results and the analysis show that the balance of Chebyshev is the best.

Communication is the transfer of information from one point to another over a channel. However, as technology is growing, more information is needed to be passed over large distances for the realization of the world being a global village. There is the need to place a reliable communication system that will transmit effortlessly both data and voice over a channel. Power Line Communication (PLC) also known as Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology offers high speed and broadband communication services to homes connected to the power lines. This makes use of the electrical lines for transmission of data up to the last mile and there is no need of separating copper cables, short haul satellite systems, optical fibre cable and Wi-Fi. This work presented an overview of a voice and data communication over PLC in terms of the various types, equipment use, method of communication, application, regulatory activities on PLC and the challenges facing the implementation of power line for transmitting voice and data. Therefore, PLC is a viable alternative to all other methods of transmission as it is readily available and can be easily implemented in rural areas where other communication systems are not implemented for the transmission of voice and data communication. Keywords: Communication, Power Line Communication, Broadband over Power Line, Voice and Data Communication, Broadband over Power Line, Transmission, Electrical Line. DOI : 10.7176/MTM/9-8-03 Publication date : August 31st 2019

Weighted fractional Fourier transform encrypted chaotic direct sequence spread spectrum (WFRFT-CD3S) signal is aperiodic and complex Gaussian distributed. The aperiodicity and complex Gaussian distribution are conducive to the covert transmission of information but also make it difficult to acquire the WFRFT-CD3S signal. An acquisition method implemented in two steps is proposed to acquire the Doppler-shifted WFRFT-CD3S signal. First, a bidirectional correlation search method is proposed to align the received signal with the local spreading sequence in the time domain. The correlation peak attenuation caused by the Doppler frequency shift is eliminated by differential. Second, the accumulated phase angle caused by the Doppler frequency shift is obtained by the differential correlation value between the aligned received signal and the local spreading sequence. Then, the Doppler frequency shift is estimated by the accumulated phase angle. The detection probability, the false alarm probability, and the root mean square error (RMSE) of the Doppler shift estimation are analyzed theoretically and simulated. The theoretical results are verified by simulation. Theoretical results and simulations show that the detection probability is higher than 0.999, the false alarm probability is less than 0.001, and the RMSE of Doppler shift estimation is lower than 63 Hz when the signal-to-noise ratio is higher than -7.3 dB.

Although Power Line Communication (PLC) is not a new technology, its use to support data transmission over low voltage (LV) distribution networks is still the focus of ongoing research. This thesis focuses on the channel modelling and performance evaluation of narrowband (NB) PLC system. First, the channel modelling approaches of PLC are studied. Then, the proposed PLC channel modelling method based on the bottom-up approach for LV narrowband PLC in a frequency band between 9 kHz and 490 kHz is presented. This proposed model employs the transmission and scattering matrix methods to calculate the transfer function of a typical LV PLC network which comprises two common cable types (copper cables and aluminium conductor steel reinforced). Unlike the top-down approaches, this model is scalable as the network complexity increases and can better describe the network behaviour as a function of physical parameters.In addition, the noise characteristics and popular noise reduction techniques of PLC are studied. The major impairment to the PLC is the impulsive noise which is mainly generated by the switching transient in the network. Hence, a new technique is proposed to mitigate the impact of impulsive noise on data transmission over power lines. This proposed technique is an optimal Clipping/Blanking nonlinearity technique which is based on the minimum bit error rate (BER) search. Results obtained from the simulation of this technique demonstrate that performance has been enhanced in the NB-PLC system. The performance of the narrowband PLC system is also evaluated in both physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers. Since Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a suitable modulation scheme for hostile environment of the power line, it is used to evaluate the PHY layer performance. As a result of the PHY layer performance analyses, it is found that the BER performance between neighbouring points in the typical LV PLC network is reasonable, but communication beyond one hop have to rely on upper layer protocols. In the MAC layer performance evaluation of the PLC system, the widely known random access MAC protocol that uses the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) will be utilised. The MAC performance evaluation of the PLC system demonstrates a significant packet loss in LV PLC network even with a light traffic condition due to the noisy channel. Furthermore, the goodput declines abruptly once the individual transmission rate is high enough to block the network. In addition, the simulation results show that the channel errors can be reduced by adjusting the MAC parameters to allow the re-transmissions mechanisms to recoup the lost packets.

Based on the techno-economic pedagogical (TEP) method proposed in [1] that is suitable for designing Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) networks in transmission and distribution power grids, this paper examines the broadband potential of overhead low-voltage/broadband over power lines (LV/BPL) and medium-voltage/broadband over power lines (MV/BPL) networks. In this paper, on the basis of the set of linear simplifications and techno-economic metrics already presented in [1], TEP method demonstrates to undergraduate electrical and computer engineering (ECE) students the behavior of overhead LV/BPL and MV/BPL networks in terms of their modal transmission characteristics when different overhead LV/BPL and MV/BPL topologies occur. The contribution of this paper is four-fold. First, the factors influencing modal transmission characteristics of overhead LV/BPL and MV/BPL networks are investigated with regard to their spectral behavior and end-to-end channel attenuation. Second, the impact of the multiplicity of branches at the same junction is first examined. In the light of cascaded two-way power dividers, TEP method is extended so as to cope with more complex BPL topologies offering a new simplified and accurate circuital approximation. Third, apart from the broadband transmission characteristics of the entire overhead distribution power grid, a consequence of the application of TEP method is that it helps towards the intraoperability/interoperability of overhead LV/BPL and MV/BPL systems under a common PHY framework in the concept of a unified distribution smart grid (SG) power network. Fourth, TEP method can be demonstrated to undergraduate ECE students as case study in order to stimulate their interest for Microwave Engineering and Circuit/System Engineering courses. Citation: Lazaropoulos, A. (2015). Designing Broadband over Power Lines Networks Using the Techno-Economic Pedagogical (TEP) Method – Part II: Overhead Low-Voltage and Medium-Voltage Channels and Their Modal Transmission Characteristics. Trends In Renewable Energy, 1 (2), 59-86. doi: 10.17737/tre.2015.1.2.006

In recent times, power line communication (PLC) has an ability of communicating the signals and messages making use of the existing power lines without going for new mediums such as optical fibers or radio waves. Considering the voltage, electrical networks are rated as low (1 kV), medium (1–100 kV), and high (>100 kV) networks and the communication problems in these networks increase with increase in voltage. In order to establish high-speed data communications with data rates in the range of megabit/s over power line networks, dedicated communication systems considering the hostile channel properties are required. In addition to signal distortion, losses in cables and multipath propagation, noise from the system also plays a key role to alter the digital communication over power line networks which is dealt in this project. In this work, the signals are obtained with less bit error rate (BER) using Rayleigh fading channel improving the efficiency of the whole system. Different modulation techniques are compared in narrowband power line communication (PLC) systems, and some suggestions are made for the improvement of data transmission in narrowband systems. The best compromise for single-carrier PLC modules between efficiency and architecture complexity is being investigated in this project.

Direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and M-ary frequency shift keying (MFSK) are two viable modulation schemes for broadband power line communication (PLC) channels, for multi-carrier and single carrier cases respectively. In this paper, we study the bit error rate (BER) performance of a synchronous DS-CDMA system and an MFSK system employing coherent detection for a PLC channel. The background noise present in PLC channel is assumed to follow Nakagami-m distribution as suggested by earlier works. Thereafter a comparison is drawn between the two modulation schemes. In order to draw the comparison at an equal level, we analyse the BER performances of the two systems having the same degree of transmitter/ receiver complexity along with the criteria of same bandwidth occupation, same transmission power as well as the same PLC channel characteristics. The study provides an insight as to how a small change in the parameter of a random variable (RV) describing the background power line noise has a marked influence on the BER performances of the two modulation schemes mentioned above. Also from the simulation results obtained it is quite evident that for a single user case, the MFSK system outperforms the DS-CDMA system at similar data rates.

This paper proposes a method based on chaotic spread spectrum sequence for synchronous online diagnosis of intermittent faults for complex and cable. networks, such as the aircraft power system. The novelties of the proposed method include: 1) since chaotic spread spectrum signals are sensitive to initial values, the number of chaotic sequences are not limited and the proposed method is not limited by the number of cables under monitoring; 2) with the self-correlation characteristic and cross-correlation characteristic of chaotic sequence, the proposed method can be extended to online diagnosis of multiple cable intermittent faults; and 3) the signal source impedance amplification method is proposed for intermittent arc faults of multiple cables, which improves the reflection coefficient and increases the accuracy of online detection and location of intermittent arc faults. A series of simulations and experiments on multiple cables with different intermittent fault modes are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

Power line carrier (PLC) has been widely applied in the various scenarios in future energy-of-networks, e.g., remote data acquisition in power grid, smart home and intelligent device control. However, due to the nature of power line, the PLC suffers from the specific noise/interference and the server frequency selective fading, which seriously degrade the transmission performance and spectral efficiency. To address the aforementioned issues, a frequency-hopping (FH) based multicarrier orthogonal frequency division multiplex communication is proposed for PLC systems (FH-OFDMPLC) in this paper, where the centric frequency of OFDM signal is hopped randomly according to the pre-designed hopping strategy so that avoiding the interference and fading channels. The signal processing in transceiver of FH-OFDM PLC is analyzed in details. Compared to the existing PLC system, e.g., the traditional OFDM PLC, the simulation results are shown that, the proposed FH-OFDM PLC can efficiently combat the effect of the fading channel and noise on performance, and it leads to the significant improvement of SNR gains and bit-error rate (BER) performance. The proposed FHOFDM PLC system can provide the reliable transmission links for multi-services integration in future energy-of-networks.

Modern hospitals are beginning to adopt E-HEALTH as efficient complements to the traditional healthcare services. To support the E-HEALTH services, a locatable, radiation-free and high-capacity communication system is urgently needed in hospitals. Power line communication (PLC) system can use the ubiquitous power line network to power the light-emitting diode (LED) lights while serving as the backbone network for the indoor visible light communication (VLC) systems naturally. In this paper, an integrated broadband power line and visible light communication systems with OFDM modulation is proposed for the indoor hospital applications. This gives a brand-new solution to replace the conventional wireless communication systems in hospitals.

Power line carrier (PLC) is an important technique used extensively on electric power lines for communication and telemetry. PLC uses signals in the 40-490 kHz range that couple to and propagate over power line conductors. Applications of PLC include protective relaying, telemetering, voice communications, supervisory control, etc. The new Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) network uses the 283.5-325 kHz band to broadcast GPS correction messages throughout the world and some PLC transmitters may operate in this band. Limited work has been done to either measure or model the electromagnetic fields associated with PLC operation and some of these studies demonstrate the potential for PLC fields close to power lines to degrade navigation signal receiver performance. This paper presents PLC field strength measurements, describes NDGPS signal structure, and recommends frequency separation as the best approach to mitigation for potential PLC interference to NDGPS receivers operated near to power lines.

This review paper reveals the broadband potential of overhead and underground low-voltage (LV) and medium-voltage (MV) broadband over power lines (BPL) networks associated with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. The contribution of this review paper is fourfold. First, the unified value decomposition (UVD) modal analysis is introduced. UVD modal analysis is a new technique that unifies eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) and singular value decomposition (SVD) modal analyses achieving the common handling of traditional SISO/BPL and upcoming MIMO/BPL systems. The validity of UVD modal analysis is examined by comparing its simulation results with those of other exact analytical models. Second, based on the proposed UVD modal analysis, the MIMO channels of overhead and underground LV and MV BPL networks (distribution BPL networks) are investigated with regard to their inherent characteristics. Towards that direction, an extended collection of well-validated metrics from the communications literature, such as channel attenuation, average channel gain (ACG), root-mean-square delay spread (RMS-DS), coherence bandwidth (CB), cumulative capacity, capacity complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF), and capacity gain (GC), is first applied in overhead and underground MIMO/LV and MIMO/MV BPL channels and systems. It is found that the results of the aforementioned metrics portfolio depend drastically on the frequency, the power grid type (either overhead or underground, either LV or MV), the MIMO scheme configuration properties, the MTL configuration, the physical properties of the cables used, the end-to-end distance, and the number, the electrical length, and the terminations of the branches encountered along the end-to-end BPL signal propagation. Third, three interesting findings concerning the statistical properties of MIMO channels of distribution BPL networks are demonstrated, namely, (i) the ACG, RMS-DS, and cumulative capacity lognormal distributions; (ii) the correlation between RMS-DS and ACG; and (iii) the correlation between RMS-DS and CB. By fitting the numerical results, unified regression distributions appropriate for MIMO/BPL channels and systems are proposed. These three fundamental properties can play significant role in the evaluation of recently proposed statistical channel models for various BPL systems. Fourth, the potential of transformation of overhead and underground LV/BPL and MV/BPL distribution grids to an alternative solution to fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) technology is first revealed. By examining the capacity characteristics of various MIMO scheme configurations and by comparing these capacity results against SISO ones, a new promising urban backbone network seems to be born in a smart grid (SG) environment.

For smart grid applications, power line communications (PLC) have become a promising candidate to support some emerging services. Although it may employ frequencies above 500 kHz to guarantee reliable performance and fast response, potential interferences between such PLC access system and medium wave (MW)/short wave (SW) broadcast radios may be caused. This paper targets to evaluate the interference level specifically, based on which some detection and mitigation solutions are also proposed as cognitive PLC approaches. It starts with spectrum analyzer based measurements on the loop antenna and at two typical low voltage (LV) power line access networks in China to investigate the ingress caused by MW/SW broadcast radios, and the Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) issue of PLC is also assessed by a field test. Then by performing a statistical analysis on the narrow-band radio interference level above the power line noise floor, an Adaptive Detection (AD) method for identifying radio stations is presented. Moreover, cooperative detection in cognitive radio (CR) is introduced as well by merging the detecting results achieved at different positions of the network to enhance the performance. Finally, the design aspects for such cognitive PLC access system are briefly discussed.

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper reviews the characteristics of a power line network as data communication medium and studies the challenges encountered when communicating over power wiring. This technology review has been done as part of feasibility study for using aircraft power-lines for data communication.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Power-Line Communication is a term which describes the use of existing electrical lines to provide the medium for a high speed communications network. Power Line Communications is achieved by superimposing the voice or data signals onto the line carrier signal using an appropriate communication technology. Power Line Communications represent a potential simplicity for communications among different devices, because it does not need additional wires for connecting devices network together.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Power line cables have been used as a communication medium for many years. However, because power line cables are not designed for communication, they pose major challenges for a modem designer. Frequency selectivity and time variation of the channel frequency response, high level of noise, and regulatory issues are some of the main considerations. The impedance, transmission line loss and noise level of power line fluctuate greatly according to how the devices are connected and their operating conditions. The paper reviews these sources of attenuation, noise and distortion encountered when communicating over power wiring. The power-line communication channel, in general, is modeled as having a time varying frequency-dependent signal-to-noise ratio over the communication bandwidth.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The paper further discusses the required features for aircraft data networks and presents aircraft power lines channel characteristics. The aircraft power-line was initially designed to distribute power in an efficient way, hence it is not adapted for communication and advanced communication methods are needed. Baseband techniques are not acceptable for Power Line Communications over aircraft power networks because of high powers transferred in baseband. This means some kind of passband technique has to be used. There exist a few types of digital modulations acceptable for this type of application. These can be split into narrowband and broadband. Narrowband mostly uses single carrier modulations like Frequency Shift Keying or Phase Shift Keying. Broadband modulations can be selected from Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex. The paper assesses these technologies in light of the known channel conditions and discusses realization of reliable high-speed communication over aircraft power-lines.</div>