Artificial Cobweb Intelligent Routing Algorithm for Low-Voltage Power Line Communication - Intelligent Computing for Sustainable Energy and Environment - page 360

Artificial Cobweb Intelligent Routing Algorithm
for Low-Voltage Power Line Communication
Liang Zhang, Xiaosheng Liu, Yan Zhou, and Dianguo Xu
Harbin Institute of Technology,
Harbin 150001, Heilongjiang Province, China
{LiangZhang,XiaoshengLiu,YanZhou,DianguoXu}[e-mail]
Abstract. This paper presents a novel artificial cobweb routing algo-
rithm (ACRA) of tree-type physical topology for the low-voltage power
line communication (LVPLC). The establishment, maintenance and re-
construction of routing are completed. The artificial cobweb routing al-
gorithm is further improved and it has a broader general applicability
in LVPLC of smart grid. Based on the cobweb structure, the proposed
algorithm formulates communication timing which reduces the channel
conflict sharply, and improves the channel utilization. The simulation
experiment was based on MATLAB and Opnet14.5, the simulation re-
sults show that the ACRA has a greater advantage and practicality in
guaranteeing the Quality of Service (QoS) and reliability of LVPLC.
Keywords: Smart Grid, Low-Voltage Power Line Communication, Ar-
tificial Cobweb, Routing Algorithm, Reliability.
1 Introduction
With the development of Smart Grid in China, the low-voltage power-line com-
munication (LVPLC) has become one of the potential technologies to commute
the information between the end users and the power provider, which has been
attracting new attention and becoming one of the research hot topics 1 .How-
ever, the LV distribution networks are not designed for communications; they
are therefore not favorable for data transmission. Furthermore, power line com-
munication (PLC) systems have to operate with limited signal power in order to
ensure low electromagnetic interference (EMI). In the case, the channel noise and
signal attenuation are very significant and serious, which can affect the eciency
and reliability of PLC services[2].
To improve the reliability of PLC system, researchers in [3] introduced array
codes into the PLC environment and studied the channel's performance, applied
Middleton's model for the channel's background and impulsive noise, introduced
a novel way of estimating the system's impulsive noise. Authors in [4-10] mainly
focus on attenuation characteristics of the channel, channel noise characteristics,
1 This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.
60972065, 51277042).