Vulnerability of Wireless Network Technology to Impulsive Noise in Electricity Transmission Substations

国家电力传输系统的基础设施投资是巨大的。因此，有必要在维持可接受的供应安全的情况下，尽可能有效地操作这些系统。高效、可靠的运行要求对系统状态进行持续监测，这就导致了仪表和控制设备广泛地分散在整个变电站建筑群中。正常和异常操作的信息和控制信号传统上使用电缆或光纤连接到监测和控制系统。然而，如果信号可以在变电站周围无线传输，将获得比有线基础设施更大的灵活性和成本优势。此外，无线通信技术提供了“热线”的前景，传感器可以部署在带电的高压设备上，而不会因为桥接电力系统的初级绝缘而带来不便和成本。无线局域网（WLAN）和蓝牙技术为实现这些优势提供了明显的机会。然而，为关键功能随意部署无线技术并非没有风险。由于不完全绝缘产生的局部放电（PD）辐射以及开关和故障瞬变产生的辐射，变电站内的人为噪声环境非常恶劣。拟议方案的主要目的是评估无线局域网技术在输电变电站特别恶劣的环境中对脉冲噪声的脆弱性，从而评估这种系统用于监测、控制和保护应用的适用性。如果发现这些技术足够强大，部署它们的经济和技术效益将是巨大的。如果发现它们不够坚固，则该方案将确定性能和可靠性下降的机制，从而制定适当的缓解技术和对策。

The infrastructure investment in a national power transmission system is colossal. It is therefore necessary to operate such systems as efficiently as possible, consistent with maintaining acceptable security of supply. Efficient and reliable operation demands continuous monitoring of the system's state resulting in instrumentation and control equipment being widely scattered throughout transmission substation compounds. Information and control signals for both normal and abnormal operation are traditionally connected to a monitoring and control system using cables or optical fibres. Significant flexibility and cost advantages over a wired infrastructure would be gained, however, if signals could be routed around electricity substation compounds wirelessly. Furthermore, wireless communication technologies hold out the prospect of 'hot-line', sensors that can be deployed on energised high voltage equipment without the inconvenience and costs associated with bridging the power system's primary insulation.Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Bluetooth technologies represent obvious opportunities to realise these advantages.The casual deployment of wireless technologies for critical functions is not, however, without risk. The man-made noise environment within a substation compound is extremely hostile due to partial discharge (PD) radiation from imperfect insulation and radiation from switching and fault transients.The principal aim of the proposed programme is to assess the vulnerability of WLAN technologies to impulsive noise in the particularly hostile environment of electrical transmission substations, and thus assess the suitability of such systems for monitoring, control and protection applications. If these technologies are found to be sufficiently robust the economic and technical benefit of their deployment will be substantial. If they are found to be insufficiently robust then the programme will identify the mechanisms by which performance and reliability are degraded, allowing the development of appropriate mitigation techniques and countermeasures.