Narrowband power line communication: Medium voltage cable modeling and laboratory experimental results

• Introduction of a model simulating a PLC channel in the narrowband frequency range.
• Model validation using test measurements by a medium voltage single-core cable.
• The common and differential modes of propagation are examined.
• Experimental and simulation results in very good agreement validating the model.
• Investigation of the influence of different parameters on the transmitted signal.

Power line communication (PLC) is a key component in the communication infrastructure of the future smart grid with applications in both medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) networks. PLC channel characteristics are very important for the signal propagation and further analysis of their performance is needed. Scope of this paper is to investigate the propagation characteristics of MV cables by implementing experimental and simulation tests for different cable configurations and operational cases. A PLC channel simulation model is presented using proper cable models and is validated by measurements showing a very good agreement in the results. Investigations concerning the signal propagation are conducted and results are discussed.