An experimental characterization of time of arrival accuracy for time synchronization of medium voltage smart grid solutions

• The time synchronization of smart grid devices is a critical feature for the successful application of advanced grid monitoring and control techniques. Synchronization mechanisms based on the accurate estimation of the Time of Arrival (ToA) of network messages-sent over power line cables-are a promising solution to achieve synchronization tasks over distribution lines. In this paper, a chirp-based synchronization technique over the Medium Voltage (MV) grid has been proposed and characterized. Such approach has the benefit of not requiring the installation of a dedicated infrastructure, thanks to the exploitation of power distribution lines for the transmission of time synchronization data. The effectiveness of the approach has been experimentally evaluated on a simplified MV line available in a testing laboratory. Although, the tested chirp has a limited frequency bandwidth (80 kHz), the maximum variation of the ToA estimation is on the order of 3.5 μs, which fulfills the requirements of most smart grid applications. © 2019 IEEE.

Nyckelord

Chirp modulation

Medium Voltage Distribution Grid

Performance Evaluation

Smart Grid

Time of Arrival

Time Synchronization

Electric power system measurement

Electric power transmission networks

Frequency estimation

Laboratories

Smart power grids

Synchronization

Experimental characterization

Medium voltage

Power distribution lines

Synchronization mechanisms

Synchronization technique

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