Transmission Characteristics Simulation on Power Line Communications

In power line communications (PLC) systems, medium- and low-voltage power lines are used as a communication network. Reflections caused by impedance mismatches degrade the transmission characteristics in the frequency range for PLC systems. If transmission characteristics of power lines can be estimated by simulation, the design and operation of PLC networks will be efficient. This paper proposes a method of simulating the transmission characteristics of a channel model between a transmitter and a receiver installed on a distribution network. The propagation characteristics of PLC signals of each distribution facility are described using two-port networks. A channel model is automatically generated from the combination of component models along the topology of the distribution network and the transmitter and receiver locations. The proposed method was validated using field data and was proved to be effective. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 92(3): 46-55, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10233