Analysis and modeling of impulsive noise in broad-band powerline communications

TLDR

Powerline channels differ from many other communication channels by not being additive white Gaussian noise; in the 0.5–20 MHz range they are dominated by narrow‑band interference and impulsive noise, which introduces significant time variance. The authors develop a statistical model of the time behavior of random impulsive noise based on a partitioned Markov chain suitable for simulation. The study examines impulse rate and disturbance ratio in typical powerline scenarios. Spectral and time‑domain analysis of impulsive noise yields figures of the power spectral density and distributions of amplitude, impulse width, and interarrival times.

Abstract

Contrary to many other communication channels, the powerline channel does not represent an additive white Gaussian noise environment. In the frequency range from several hundred kilohertz up to 20 MHz, it is mostly dominated by narrow-band interference and impulsive noise. In particular, the impulsive noise introduces significant time variance into the powerline channel. Spectral analysis and time-domain analysis of impulsive noise give some figures of the power spectral density as well as distributions of amplitude, impulse width, and "interarrival" times in typical powerline scenarios. Furthermore, the impulse rate and the disturbance ratio of the scenarios are examined. Finally, a statistical model of the time behavior of random impulsive noise based on a partitioned Markov chain is developed, which is suitable for implementation in computer-based communication system simulations.