A bottom-up PLC channel model that includes radiation effects

Existing Power Line Communications (PLC) channel models consider just the conducted propagation of signals through power lines. However, the natural conformation of power line networks causes a relevant part of the high frequency signals traveling through them to be radiated instead of being conducted. This causes not only deterioration of the signal integrity but also electromagnetic interference (EMI) with devices positioned next to power line cables. This paper describes a bottom-up channel model that includes such radiation effects. With this aim, the physical causes of radiation in power lines are analyzed and their effect on the signal propagation is used to propose a novel power line cable model. Since most of the radiation is caused by common-mode signals, the paper presents a method to describe the propagation of such signals along a power line network and to account for possible mode conversions. Comparisons with lab measurements are finally presented to demonstrate the validity of the model.