In South Africa, electricity is supplied through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power cables, which is owned by Eskom the national energy supplier. Currently monitoring of these overhead power cables are done by ...In South Africa, electricity is supplied through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power cables, which is owned by Eskom the national energy supplier. Currently monitoring of these overhead power cables are done by means of helicopter inspection flights and foot patrols, which are infrequent and expensive. In this paper, the authors present the design of a prototype power line crawler （inspection robot） for the monitoring of these overhead power lines in South Africa. The designed prototype power line crawler is capable of driving on the wire, balancing on the wire and is capable of maneuvering past certain obstacles found on the overhead power cables. The prototype power line crawler is designed to host a monitoring system that monitors the power line as the inspection robot drives on it. Various experimental tests were performed and are presented in this paper, showing the capability of performing these tasks. This prototype inspection robot ensures a platform for future development in this area.展开更多
Broadband PLC （power line communication） technology is a main factor of the development of digital convergence in the indoor network. It uses the already existing power cable infrastructure for communication purpose...Broadband PLC （power line communication） technology is a main factor of the development of digital convergence in the indoor network. It uses the already existing power cable infrastructure for communication purposes. The EM （electromagnetic） field radiating from the cable could, however, disturb other communication systems, and thus should be evaluated. The MoM （method of moment） and the FEM （finite element method） have been studied to estimate the EVI field emitted from the power cable. However, the M oM is difficult to treat the dielectric material of the cable and the FEM is time consuming. This paperpresents a new approach to estimate the radiated EM fields caused by PLC sy stems from the CM current along the cable, based on the transmission line theory. The proposed model has the advantage of using the measured primary parameters of the cable. An experimental analysis of the EM radiation distribution is also presented. A comparison showed that the model results agree quite well with the measurements performed in this study.展开更多
文摘In South Africa, electricity is supplied through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power cables, which is owned by Eskom the national energy supplier. Currently monitoring of these overhead power cables are done by means of helicopter inspection flights and foot patrols, which are infrequent and expensive. In this paper, the authors present the design of a prototype power line crawler （inspection robot） for the monitoring of these overhead power lines in South Africa. The designed prototype power line crawler is capable of driving on the wire, balancing on the wire and is capable of maneuvering past certain obstacles found on the overhead power cables. The prototype power line crawler is designed to host a monitoring system that monitors the power line as the inspection robot drives on it. Various experimental tests were performed and are presented in this paper, showing the capability of performing these tasks. This prototype inspection robot ensures a platform for future development in this area.
文摘Broadband PLC （power line communication） technology is a main factor of the development of digital convergence in the indoor network. It uses the already existing power cable infrastructure for communication purposes. The EM （electromagnetic） field radiating from the cable could, however, disturb other communication systems, and thus should be evaluated. The MoM （method of moment） and the FEM （finite element method） have been studied to estimate the EVI field emitted from the power cable. However, the M oM is difficult to treat the dielectric material of the cable and the FEM is time consuming. This paperpresents a new approach to estimate the radiated EM fields caused by PLC sy stems from the CM current along the cable, based on the transmission line theory. The proposed model has the advantage of using the measured primary parameters of the cable. An experimental analysis of the EM radiation distribution is also presented. A comparison showed that the model results agree quite well with the measurements performed in this study.
