Analysis of power line communication networks using a new approach based on an efficient measurement technique

In this paper, we present an efficient measurement technique for the analysis of power line communication (PLC) signals. The frequency spectrum associated with PLC signals extends from 1 MHz to 30 MHz. The proposed technique can be applied to a network containing multiconductor overhead lines and/or underground cables and it complements the theoretical formalism based on scattering parameters presented previously in the work of F. Issa et al. (2002). The use of a vector network analyzer is recommended for the evaluation of the scattering parameters matrix. Based on the proposed approach, we present examples of simulations for the voltage level of the PLC signals for different simple configurations. The simulations are compared with experimental data and a satisfactory agreement is found.