A Simple and Effective Surface Defect Detection Method of Power Line Insulators for Difficult Small Objects

Insulator defect detection plays a vital role in maintaining the secure operation of power systems.To address the issues of the difficulty of detecting small objects and missing objects due to the small scale,variable scale,and fuzzy edge morphology of insulator defects,we construct an insulator dataset with 1600 samples containing flashovers and breakages.Then a simple and effective surface defect detection method of power line insulators for difficult small objects is proposed.Firstly,a high-resolution featuremap is introduced and a small object prediction layer is added so that the model can detect tiny objects.Secondly,a simplified adaptive spatial feature fusion(SASFF)module is introduced to perform cross-scale spatial fusion to improve adaptability to variable multi-scale features.Finally,we propose an enhanced deformable attention mechanism(EDAM)module.By integrating a gating activation function,the model is further inspired to learn a small number of critical sampling points near reference points.And the module can improve the perception of object morphology.The experimental results indicate that concerning the dataset of flashover and breakage defects,this method improves the performance of YOLOv5,YOLOv7,and YOLOv8.In practical application,it can simply and effectively improve the precision of power line insulator defect detection and reduce missing detection for difficult small objects.

Minimization of Electric Power Losses on 132 kV and 220 kV Uganda Electricity Transmission Lines

The classical minimization of power losses in transmission lines is dominated by artificial intelligence techniques, which do not guarantee global optimum amidst local minima. Revolutionary and evolutionary techniques are encumbered with sophisticated transformations, which weaken the techniques. Power loss minimization is crucial to the efficient design and operation of power transmission lines. Minimization of losses is one way to meet steady grid supply, especially at peak demand. Thus, this paper has presented a gradient technique to obtain optimal variables and values from the power loss model, which efficiently minimizes power losses by modifying the traditional power loss model that combines Ohm and Corona losses. Optimality tests showed that the unmodified model does not support the minimization of power losses on transmission lines as the Hessian matrix portrayed the maximization of power losses. However, the modified model is consistent with the gradient method of optimization, which yielded optimum variables and values from the power loss model developed in this study. The unmodified (modified) models for Bujagali-Kawanda 220 kV and Masaka West-Mbarara North 132 kV transmission lines in Uganda showed maximum power losses of 0.406 (0.391) and 0.452 (0.446) kW/km/phase respectively. These results indicate that the modified model is superior to the unmodified model in minimizing power losses in the transmission lines and should be implemented for the efficient design and operation of power transmission lines within and outside Uganda for the same transmission voltages.

A Miniaturized Broadband Wilkinson Power Divider Using Micro-Strip Branch Lines

A miniaturized broadband Wilkinson power divider is proposed. Micro-strip branch lines are introduced to replace multiple resistors used in multi-stage Wilkinson power dividers to increase the bandwidth of single-stage Wilkinson power dividers. To demonstrate its performance, an improved single-stage Wilkinson power divider with four micro-strip branch lines was designed. Simulated results show that the insert loss is better than 3.2 dB, the input return loss, output return loss, and isolation are better than 15 dB respectively, across a 76% bandwidth from 18 to 40 GHz. .

A Two-Layer Active Power Optimization and Coordinated Control for Regional Power Grid Partitioning to Promote Distributed Renewable Energy Consumption

With the large-scale development and utilization of renewable energy,industrial flexible loads,as a kind of loadside resource with strong regulation ability,provide new opportunities for the research on renewable energy consumption problem in power systems.This paper proposes a two-layer active power optimization model based on industrial flexible loads for power grid partitioning,aiming at improving the line over-limit problem caused by renewable energy consumption in power grids with high proportion of renewable energy,and achieving the safe,stable and economical operation of power grids.Firstly,according to the evaluation index of renewable energy consumption characteristics of line active power,the power grid is divided into several partitions,and the interzone tie lines are taken as the optimization objects.Then,on the basis of partitioning,a two-layer active power optimization model considering the power constraints of industrial flexible loads is established.The upper-layer model optimizes the planned power of the inter-zone tie lines under the constraint of the minimum peak-valley difference within a day;the lower-layer model optimizes the regional source-load dispatching plan of each resource in each partition under the constraint of theminimumoperation cost of the partition,so as to reduce the line overlimit phenomenon caused by renewable energy consumption and save the electricity cost of industrial flexible loads.Finally,through simulation experiments,it is verified that the proposed model can effectively mobilize industrial flexible loads to participate in power grid operation and improve the economic stability of power grid.

Side-Channel Attacks & Data Exfiltration Using Wall Outlet USB Power Adapters

The number and creativity of side channel attacks have increased dramatically in recent years. Of particular interest are attacks leveraging power line communication to 1) gather information on power consumption from the victim and 2) exfiltrate data from compromised machines. Attack strategies of this nature on the greater power grid and building infrastructure levels have been shown to be a serious threat. This project further explores this concept of a novel attack vector by creating a new type of penetration testing tool: an USB power adapter capable of remote monitoring of device power consumption and communicating through powerline communications.

Analysis of the Design and Application of a Novel CT Secondary Cable Line Calibrator

With the rapid development of electrical power systems,ensuring the accuracy and reliability of power transmis-sion has become particularly crucial.The secondary cable line calibrator for current transformers(CT)plays an essential role in calibrating electrical power systems.It is not only related to the safe operation of the system but also directly im-pacts the accuracy of energy metering.This study aims to design and analyze an efficient CT secondary cable line calibra-tor to explore its application effects in the power system.By thoroughly analyzing the characteristics of CT secondary ca-ble lines and the design requirements of the calibrator,this paper proposes an innovative design scheme for the calibrator.This device demonstrates significant effects in enhancing the accuracy and stability of power system calibration,providing robust technical support for the optimization and upgrade of the power system.This research not only offers a theoretical basis and practical guidance for the design and application of CT secondary cable line calibrators but also contributes new ideas and methods for the precise calibration and efficient management of the power system.

Performance Evaluation for Medium Voltage MIMO-OFDM Power Line Communication System

Power line communication(PLC)provides intelligent electrical functions such as power quality measurement,fault surveys,and remote control of electrical network.Most of research works have been done in low voltage(LV)scenario due to the fast development of in-home PLC.The aim of this paper is to evaluate the link-level performance of a medium voltage(MV)MIMO-OFDM communication system based on transmission link under underground power line channel.The MIMO channel is modeled as a modified multipath model in the presence of impulsive noise and background noise.We first perform a measurement on the practical MV MIMO channel parameters for a section of buried cable of 1 km long in Ganzhou city,Jiangxi province,China.Based on the measured channel,we design the frame structure based on an IEEE standard for broadband over power line networks[1]to support MV MIMO-OFDM transmission.According to designed frame structure,we design an encoder and a decoder for a dual binary tail-biting turbo code and optimize some key decoder parameters for low bit error rate performance.Finally,the link-level performance for both spatial multiplexing and spatial diversity are evaluated.Numeral results show that MV MIMO-OFDM is a promising approach to provide both high data rate and link reliability for PLC.

High Precision Ultrasonic Guided Wave Technique for Inspection of Power Transmission Line

Due to the merits of high inspection speed and long detecting distance, Ultrasonic Guided Wave（UGW） method has been commonly applied to the on-line maintenance of power transmission line. However, the guided wave propagation in this structure is very complicated, leading to the unfavorable defect localization accuracy. Aiming at this situation, a high precision UGW technique for inspection of local surface defect in power transmission line is proposed. The technique is realized by adopting a novel segmental piezoelectric ring transducer and transducer mounting scheme, combining with the comprehensive characterization of wave propagation and circumferential defect positioning with multiple piezoelectric elements. Firstly, the propagation path of guided waves in the multi-wires of transmission line under the proposed technique condition is investigated experimentally. Next, the wave velocities are calculated by dispersion curves and experiment test respectively, and from comparing of the two results, the guided wave mode propagated in transmission line is confirmed to be F（1,1） mode. Finally, the axial and circumferential positioning of local defective wires in transmission line are both achieved, by using multiple piezoelectric elements to surround the stands and send elastic waves into every single wire. The proposed research can play a role of guiding the development of highly effective UGW method and detecting system for multi-wire transmission line.

Dynamic Balance Control Based on an Adaptive Gain-scheduled Backstepping Scheme for Power-line Inspection Robots

This paper presents an adaptive gain-scheduled backstepping control(AGSBC) scheme for the balance control of an underactuated mechanical power-line inspection(PLI) robotic system with two degrees of freedom and a single control input.First, a nonlinear dynamic model of the balance adjustment process of the PLI robot is constructed, and then the model is linearized at a nominal equilibrium point to overcome the computational infeasibility of the conventional backstepping technique. Second, to solve generalized stabilization control issue for underactuated systems with multiple equilibrium points,an equilibrium manifold linearized model is developed using a scheduling variable, and then a gain-scheduled backstepping control(GSBC) scheme for expanding the operational area of the controlled system is constructed. Finally, an adaptive mechanism is proposed to counteract the impact of external disturbances. The robust stability of the closed-loop system is ensured by Lyapunov theorem. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and high performance of the proposed scheme compared with other control schemes.

The design of monitoring communication system Based on Power line carrier

The design of the power line carrier communication system was introduced in this paper,DSP was adopted as the hardware platform to complete the core task.DSP sending terminal delivered the collecting data to the DSP receiving terminal through the power line carrier, and the DSP receiving terminal send the data to PC through a serial port.The design improved the power line carrier communication system and the data transmission became faster and more reliable.The experiment results showed that the PER of the receiving data is less than 0.4%, which satisfied the power line carrier communication requirement Our design is feasible and effective.

The changing process and trend of ground temperature around tower foundations of Qinghai-Tibet Power Transmission line

After the construction of Qinghai-Tibet Highway and Railway, the Qinghai-Tibet Power Transmission(QTPT) line is another major permafrost engineering project with new types of engineering structures. The changing process and trend of ground temperature around tower foundations are crucial for the stability of QTPT. We analyzed the change characteristics and tendencies of the ground temperature based on field monitoring data from 2010 to 2014. The results reveal that soil around the tower foundations froze and connected with the artificial permafrost induced during the construction of footings after the first freezing period, and the soil below the original permafrost table kept freezing in subsequent thawing periods. The ground temperature lowered to that of natural fields, fast or slowly for tower foundations with thermosyphons,while for tower foundations without thermosyphons, the increase in ground temperature resulted in higher temperature than that of natural fields. Also, the permafrost temperature and ice content are significant factors that influence the ground temperature around tower foundations. Specifically, the ground temperature around tower foundations in warm and ice-rich permafrost regions decreased slowly, while that in cold and ice poor permafrost regions cooled faster. Moreover, foundations types impacted the ground temperature, which consisted of different technical processes during construction and variant of tower footing structures. The revealed changing process and trend of the ground temperature is beneficial for evaluating the thermal regime evolution around tower foundations in the context of climate change.

Reduction of electric field strength by two species of trees under power transmission lines

Electrical pollution is a worldwide concern,because it is potentially harmful to human health.Trees not only play a significant role in moderating the climate,but also can be used as shields against electrical pollution.Shielding effects on the electric field strength under transmission lines by two tree species,Populus alba and Larix gmelinii,were examined in this study.The electrical resistivity at different heights of trees was measured using a PiCUS sonic tomograph,which can image the electrical impedance for trees.The electric field strength around the trees was measured with an elf field strength measurement system,HI-3604,and combined with tree resistivity to develop a model for calculating the electric field intensity around trees using the finite element method.In addition,the feasibility of the finite element method was confirmed by comparing the calculated results and experimental data.The results showed that the trees did reduce the electric field strength.The electric field intensity was reduced by 95.6%,and P.alba was better than L.gmelinii at shielding.

Power Line Monitoring Data Transmission Using Wireless Sensor Network

The WSN used in power line monitoring is long chain structure, and the bottleneck near the Sink node is more obvious. In view of this, A Sink nodes’ cooperation mechanism is presented. The Sink nodes from different WSNs are adjacently deployed. Adopting multimode and spatial multiplexing network technology, the network is constructed into multi-mode-level to achieve different levels of data streaming. The network loads are shunted and the network resources are rationally utilized. Through the multi-sink nodes cooperation, the bottlenecks at the Sink node and its near several jump nodes are solved and process the competition of communication between nodes by channel adjustment. Finally, the paper analyzed the method and provided simulation experiment results. Simulation results show that the method can solve the funnel effect of the sink node, and get a good QoS.

Steady-state voltage-control method considering large-scale wind-power transmission using half-wavelength transmission lines

Half-wavelength transmission can transmit large-scale renewable energy over very long distances.This paper proposes an improved steady-state voltage-control method for half-wavelength transmission systems considering largescale wind-power transmission.First,the unique voltage characteristics of half-wavelength lines are deduced based on the distributed parameter model.In the secondary voltage-control level,reactive power-transmission limits of half-wavelength lines are introduced as another control objective except for tracing the pilot bus voltage reference.Considering the uncertainty and fluctuation of wind power,the overvoltage risk-assessment method of half-wavelength lines is presented to determine specific voltage-control strategies.Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed voltage-control method delivers superior tracking performance according to a voltage reference value and prevents the overvoltage risk of halfwavelength lines effectively in different wind-power penetrations.

A FAST BIT-LOADING ALGORITHM FOR HIGH SPEED POWER LINE COMMUNICATIONS

Adaptive bit-loading is a key technology in high speed power line communications with the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation technology. According to the real situation of the transmitting power spectrum limited in high speed power line communications, this paper explored the adaptive bit loading algorithm to maximize transmission bit number when transmitting power spectral density and bit error rate are not exceed upper limit. With the characteristics of the power line channel, first of all, it obtains the optimal bit loading algorithm, and then provides the improved algorithm to reduce the computational complexity. Based on the analysis and simulation, it offers a non-iterative bit allocation algorithm, and finally the simulation shows that this new algorithm can greatly reduce the computational complexity, and the actual bit allocation results close to optimal.

Propagation characteristics of power line harmonic radiation in the ionosphere

Theoretical model and solutions on power line harmonic radiation （PLHR） propagating in the ground, air, and anisotropic homogeneous ionosphere are presented, The theoretical model is verified by the PLHR events observed by the DEMETER satellite. Some propagation characteristics of PLHR based on the model are obtained. This paper is bene- ficial to quantitatively interpret the formation mechanism of PLHR phenomenon.

A power divider based on a new kind of composite right/left-handed transmission line (CRLH TL) unit

A new power divider, composed of a novel composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line (TL) unit, is proposed. The properties of the power divider based on four CRLH TL unit cells are investigated theoretically. By adjusting the parameters of the capacitors and the inductors, the power divider shows perfectly symmetric power division at 5.13 GHz, return loss up to ?24 dB, with the transmitted power being close to ?3.1 dB. The phenomena are demonstrated by simulation results. Being compact in size and low-cost, the proposed power divider is very suitable for microwave and millimeter wave integrated circuits.

Power line strikes by Black-necked Cranes and Bar-headed Geese in Tibet Autonomous Region

We investigated collisions with power lines by Black-necked Cranes (Grus nigricollis) and Barheaded Geese (Anser indicus) along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region during two winters.Three segments of a 35 kV transmission line were surveyed each winter for injured and dead birds.Injured birds disappeared within five days of their initial detection; most dead birds encountered had been scavenged.We recorded two dead geese on transects and two injured geese and two dead cranes adjacent to transects.We found a higher incidence of bird strikes along power line segments close to roosting and foraging areas.We recommend that power lines,new or old,located in the flight path from nocturnal roosts,near important foraging areas or crossing the mouths of important agricultural valleys should be marked with colored and/or reflecting devices that have been proven to reduce crane and goose collisions.

Next Generation Narrowband(Under 500 kHz) Power Line Communications(PLC) Standards

In the past decade,several efforts around the world were started with the goal of introducing "smart metering" capabilities into the power grid.These efforts have spurred renewed interest in the design of next generation Narrowband Power Line Communications(NB-PLC) transceivers.In the past few years,ITU-T and IEEE have standardized a family of next generation OFDM-based NB-PLC transceivers some of which are today being considered for massive deployments in Europe and Asia.This paper addresses the important role that PLC has not only for smart metering but also for many other Smart Grid applications,and also gives an overview of the main differences between these next generation NB-PLC standards.

Modeling of OFDM Based Transceiver for Broadband Powerline Communication

In the recent past power line communication has emerged as an attractive choice for high speed data transfer and is looked upon as inexpensive and reliable media suitable for broadband internet access, home and office automation, in-vehicle data communication etc. In this paper we present an architecture for the physical layer of a PLC transceiver based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and the impact on multipath distortion for PLC transmission in terms of bit error rate. Since there is no standard PLC channel model available, a widely accepted multipath channel model is used for simulation purpose. Simulation results as well as FPGA synthesis verify the effectiveness of the proposed architecture for PLC modem design at 110 Mbps data rate.