Wireless Communications for Power Substations: RF Characterization and Modeling

This book consists of the identification, characterization, and modeling of electromagnetic interferences in substations for the deployment of wireless sensor networks. The authors present in chapter 3 the measurement setup to record sequences of impulsive noise samples in the ISM band of interest. The setup can measure substation impulsive noise, in wide band, with enough samples per time window and enough precision to allow a statistical study of the noise. During the measurement campaign, the authors recorded around 120 noise sequences in different substations and for four ranges of equipment voltage, which are 25 kV, 230 kV, 315 kV and 735 kV. A characterization process is proposed, by which physical characteristics of partial discharge can be measured in terms of first- and second-order statistics. From the measurement campaign, the authors infer the characteristics of substation impulsive noise as a function of the substation equipment voltage, and can provide representative parameters for the four voltage ranges and for several existing impulsive noise models.

The authors investigate in chapters 4 and 5 the modeling of electromagnetic interferences caused by partial discharge sources. First, the authors propose a complete and coherent approach model that links physical characteristics of high-voltage installations to the induced radio-interference spectra of partial discharge sources. The goodness-of-fit of the proposed physical model has been measured based on some interesting statistical metrics. This allows one to assess the effectiveness of the authors' approach in terms of first- and second-order statistics. Chapter 6 proposes a model based on statistical approach. Indeed, substation impulsive noise is composed of correlated impulses, which would require models with memory in order to replicate a similar correlation. Among different models, we have configured a Partitioned Markov Chain (PMC) with 19 states (one state for the background noise and 18 states for the impulse); this Markov-Gaussian model is able to generate impulsive noise with correlated impulse samples. The correlation is observable on the impulse duration and the power spectrum of the impulses. Our PMC model provides characteristics that are more similar to the characteristics of substation impulsive noise in comparison with other models, in terms of time and frequency response, as well as Probability Density Functions (PDF). Although PMC represents reliably substation impulsive noise, the model remains complex in terms of parameter estimation due to a large number of Markov states, which can be an obstacle for future wireless system design. In order to simplify the model, the authors decrease the number of states to 7 by assigning one state to the background noise and 6 states to the impulse and we call this model PMC-6. PMC-6 can generate realistic impulses and can be easily implemented in a receiver in order to mitigate substation impulsive noise. Representative parameters are provided in order to replicate substation impulsive noise for different voltage ranges (25-735 kV).

 Chapter 7, a generalized radio-noise model for substations is proposed, in which there are many discharges sources that are randomly distributed over space and time according to the Poisson field of interferers approach. This allows for the identification of some interesting statistical properties of moments, cumulants and probability distributions. These can, in turn, be utilized in signal processing algorithms for rapid partial discharge's identification, localization, and impulsive noise mitigation techniques in wireless communications in substations.

The primary audience for this book is the electrical and power engineering industry, electricity providers and companies who are interested in substation automation systems using wireless communication technologies for smart grid applications. Researchers, engineers and students studying and working in wireless communication will also want to buy this book as a reference.