Impulsive Noise Modeling and Cancellation Strategies Over Power Line Channels

Impulsive noise is one of the main impairments over power line channels. In this respect, this paper presents the available impulsive noise models and then reviews and compare several existing mitigation techniques proposed in the literature. These methods include multicarrier modulation, nonlinear preprocessors, multiple-input multiple-output, coding and iterative techniques. Interesting comparisons between these techniques and meaningful insights are presented and discussed

A Comparison of ICF and Companding for Impulsive Noise Mitigation in Powerline Communication Systems

In future smart cities, smart grid technologies which are usually enabled by Powerline Communication (PLC) techniques are required. However, data transmission over powerline channel traverses a non-Gaussian media due to the presence of Impulsive Noise (IN) operating at the frequencies of PLC system which can be deployed using the IEEE 1901, that uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). These OFDM signals have asymmetric amplitude distribution, which makes it difficult to identify and mitigate the IN presence. Converting the amplitude distribution to a uniform distribution can enhance the ability to mitigate IN when nonlinear IN mitigation techniques such as blanking is applied. In this study, we apply Iterative Clipping and Filtering (ICF) and companding schemes which are Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) reduction techniques to enable symmetric amplitude distribution of the OFDM signals. With an optimization search for the optimal blanking amplitude for the two PAPR reduction schemes. Results show that companding scheme achieves 4dB gain in terms of received signal-to-noise ratio better than ICF after the blanking was used to remove the IN

Optimization of Impulsive Noise Mitigation Scheme for PAPR Reduced OFDM Signals Over Powerline Channels

The IEEE 1901 powerline standard can be deployed using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) since it is robust over impulsive channels. However, the powerline channel picks up impulsive interference that the conventional OFDM driver cannot combat. Since the probability density function (PDF) of OFDM amplitudes follow the Rayleigh distribution, it becomes difficult to correctly predict the existence of impulsive noise (IN) in powerline systems. In this study, we use companding transforms to convert the PDF of the conventional OFDM system to a uniform distribution which avails the identification and mitigation of IN. Results show significant improvement in the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when nonlinear optimization search is applied. We also show that the conventional PDF leads to false IN detection which diminishes the output SNR when nonlinear memoryless mitigation scheme such as clipping or blanking is applied. Thus, companding OFDM signals before transmission helps to correctly predict the optimal blanking or clipping threshold which in turn improves the output SNR performance

Outage Probability and Energy Efficiency of DF Relaying Power Line Communication Networks: Cooperative and Non-Cooperative

This paper analyzes the energy efficiency performance of cooperative and non-cooperative decode-and-forward (DF) relaying power line communication (PLC) systems. In order to further minimize the energy consumption of such systems, we propose incremental DF (IDF) relying over the impulsive noise PLC channel. For a more realistic scenario, the PLC modems power consumption profile is assumed to consist of both dynamic power and static power. For the sake of comparison and completeness as well as to quantify the achievable gains, we also analyze the performance of a single-hop PLC system. In this respect, accurate analytical expressions for the outage probability and energy efficiency are derived. Monte Carlo simulations are provided throughout the paper to validate the analysis. Results reveal that the cooperative relaying PLC systems can provide better energy efficiency performance compared to the non-cooperative ones. It is also shown that increasing the noise probability or the modems static power can negatively impact the system performance

Cross-layer energy efficiency of plc systems for smart grid applications

Though opinions are still divided over the specific choices of technology for smart grid, there is a consensus that heterogeneous communications network is most appropriate. Power line communication (PLC) is promising because it is readily available and it aligns with the natural topology of power distribution network. One of the emerging realities is that the communication system enabling smart grid must be energy-efficient. This thesis employs a cross-layer approach to address energy efficiency of PLC networks in different smart grid scenarios. At network layer, this work exploits the topology of a PLC-enabled advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to improve the probability of successful packet delivery across the network. The technique, termed AMI clustering, leverages the traditional structure of the low voltage (LV) network by organising the smart meters into clusters and locally aggregating their readings. Improvement in packet delivery inherently reduces energy wastage. Next, the adaptation layer exploits the low data rate transmission techniques to reduce the energy requirements of PLC nodes. To achieve that, this work developed a network model in NS-3 (an open-source network simulator) that considers PLC transceivers as resource-constrained devices and interconnects them to emulate home energy management system (HEMS). The model was validated with experimental results which showed that in the home area network (HAN), low-rate applications such as energy management can be supported over low-power PLC networks. Furthermore, at physical layer, this thesis proposes a more energy-efficient multi-carrier modulation scheme than the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) used in most of the current PLC systems. OFDM is widely known for its high peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) which degrades energy efficiency of the systems. This thesis found that by employing vector- OFDM (V-OFDM), power requirements of PLC transmitter can be reduced. The results also showed the energy efficiency can be further improved by using a dynamic noise cancellation technique such as dynamic peak-based threshold estimation (DPTE) at the receiver. By applying the proposed methods, packet delivery can be improved by 3% at network layer (which conserves energy) and reduced data rate can save about 2.6014 dB in transmit power. Finally, at physical layer, V-OFDM and DPTE can respectively provide 5.8 dB and 2.1 dB reduction in power requirements of the PLC transceivers. These signify that if V-OFDM is combined with DPTE, future PLC modems could benefit from energy-efficient power amplifiers at reduced cost