The influence of soil electrical parameters on the electric field due to power line communications: Measurements of frequency-dependent soil parameters

• Published in: Electric power systems research Vol. 111; pp. 9 - 13
• Main Authors: Sabino, F.R., Machado, G.G., de Melo, M.T., de Medeiros, L.H.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-06-2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Electric field; Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering; Electrical machines; Electrical power engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Frequency dependence; Impedance parameters; Miscellaneous; Multiconductor lines; Operation. Load control. Reliability; Power line communication; Power networks and lines; Regulation and control; Soil electrical parameters; Frequency dependence; Electric field; Impedance parameters; Power line communication; Multiconductor lines; Soil electrical parameters; Electrical conductivity; Electric energy transportation; Characteristic impedance; Control system; Multiconductor line; Carrier current; Modeling; Implementation; Field equation; Power system measurement; Wide band; s parameter; Complex permittivity; Permittivity; High voltage line; Comparative study; Power transmission line; Electrical characteristic
• ISSN: 0378-7796; 1873-2046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.epsr.2014.01.023

•The influence of soil electrical parameters on the calculation of electric fields.•The relative permittivity and conductivity of the soil were plotted.•The proposed model gives good results and is easy to handle.
The contribution of the present work is to demonstrate the influence of soil electrical parameters (conductivity and permittivity) on the electric field generated by power line communications (PLC). Soil samples were collected from beneath the high-voltage transmission lines under investigation and analyzed in the laboratory using a simplified method of measuring scattering parameters. These were converted into ABCD parameters in order to obtain the characteristic impedance and then the complex permittivity as a function of frequency. The employed methodology to find the soil electrical parameters as a function of the frequency was compared to the Smith and Longmire model, which is appropriate for modeling in the frequency range of PLC signals. The results obtained by both models for calculating the electrical parameters were applied to the electric field equations developed by D’Amore. Although high-voltage transmission lines generally use narrowband PLC for control system operations, the present work implemented both narrow and broadband analyses.