G. Artale, G. Caravello, A. Cataliotti, V. Cosentino, D. Di Cara, V. Ditta, S. Guaiana, N. Panzavecchia, G. Tinè, A. Zinno

VI Forum Nazionale Delle Misure – XXXIX  Congresso Nazionale Misure Elettriche ed Elettroniche, Brescia, 15-17 Settembre 2022, pp. 297-298.

G. Artale, G. Caravello, A. Cataliotti, V. Cosentino, V. Ditta, D. Di Cara, N. Panzavecchia, G. Tinè,, N. Dipaola, M. G. Sambataro

The objective of this article is an analysis of measurement issues related to the implementation of digital signal processing techniques for harmonic analysis, by means of FFT algorithm with different interpolation algorithms (linear, quadratic and cubic) and different sampling rates. A comparative analysis is made on errors on harmonics measurement obtained in the various case study analyses. Such errors are compared with the IEC 61000-4-7 limits. The study is supported by both simulation and experimental tests; these last are performed with different acquisition boards for signals acquisition.

Artale, G. Caravello, A. Cataliotti, V. Cosentino, V. Ditta, D. Di Cara, S. Guaiana, N. Panzavecchia, G. Tinè

This paper presents a study on the use of power factor indicators for the assessment of harmonic distortion sources in power systems. In detail the analysis is focused on the comparison between the proposed nonactive power factor (Q1/N) and the indicators of the IEEE Std. 1459-2010, and on the indicators feasibility in identifying the presence of harmonic distortion sources. As discussed in the paper, the proposed indicator can be evaluated with good accuracy, by means of typical power quantities measurements at the point of common coupling (PCC). Thus its measurement can be feasibly implemented in commercial platforms used for smart metering applications. To verify the proposal validity, some simulations were carried out on a benchmark test system recently proposed in literature, where the impact of capacitor banks for reactive power compensation is taken into account.

G. Artale, G. Caravello, A. Cataliotti, V. Cosentino, D. Di Cara, R. Fiorelli, S. Guaiana, N. Panzavecchia, G. Tinè

Power line communication (PLC) is one of the most today used technologies for both automatic meter reading and many other smart grid applications. In this framework, a characterization of the electrical network in the PLC frequency range is needed in terms of impedance measurement and received signal level. This can allow choosing the most suitable and less noisy frequency ranges for PLC transmission. Usually, these characterization measurements are performed with dedicated instrumentation and in the absence of mains voltage. This article wants to propose an alternative solution, which allows these kinds of measurements to be performed using electronic boards currently used as on-field applications, such as smart meters. To this aim, an innovative measurement tool is proposed, which does not need a specific characterization signal to be injected because it uses the preamble of a generic PLC transmission. Moreover, the impedance calculation is performed using an FFT analysis, which does not require high computational capabilities. These features allowed the proposed tool to be implemented using a G3-PLC transceiver, embedded in many commercial smart meters, and low-cost additional hardware. This article shows how the proposed system correctly measures the PLC impedance on CENELEC A, B, and FCC frequency ranges.