Power line communication in medium voltage systems: characterization of MV cables

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the development of a theoretical and experimental study on the characterization of medium voltage (MV) cables in the frequency range 25-200 kHz. Two transmission line configurations, line-ground and line-line, were considered in order to evaluate the main parameters, such as the characteristic impedance and the attenuation constant [alpha]. A simplified model of the line-ground configuration is proposed which allows one to evaluate the characteristic impedance and the attenuation constant by means of geometrical dimensions. The model was verified by experimental measurements on commonly used MV cables, RG7HIR, with an aluminium core of different sections, 95 [mm.sup.2] and 185 [mm.sup.2]. Moreover, the experimental tests were carried out for the line-line configuration. Index Terms--Attenuation constant, characteristic impedance, medium voltage cables, power line communication, power system communication.