Project 3.1 Universal Communications Infrastructure Prof Dave Michelson, UBC Students: Sina Mashayekhi , Bruce Haines and the UBC Radio Science Lab team

www.smart-microgrid.ca

Project 3.1Universal Communications InfrastructureProf Dave Michelson, UBCStudents: Sina Mashayekhi, Bruce Haines and the UBC Radio Science Lab team


Background and Motivation• Electrical power utilities monitor,

protect and control generation, transmission and substation assets using sophisticated SONET-based networks.

• Smart Grids seek to extend such capabilities to both distribution assets and customer premises.

• The scale of the problem requires new and cost-effective approaches to providing connectivity via wireless, fibre optic or power line carrier systems.


The Designer’s Dilemma• Most of the candidate technologies

for providing Smart Grid network connectivity did not exist a decade ago.

• Moreover, most were designed for deployment scenarios different from those encountered in Smart Grids.

• The Smart Grid designer’s dilemma:– Overdesign leads to unnecessary

expense!– But under design is even more costly!– Regulations may not reflect reality!– Standards are set by designers, not

users!


Project 3.1 - Objectives• Project 3.1 seeks to provide

telecom architects, regulators, designers and manufacturers with a solid basis for making good design/business decisions regarding Smart Grid connectivity.

• Our propagation and interference models will be based upon extensive field data collection & will capture our knowledge and intuition regarding alternative deployment scenarios in a form useful in design and simulation.


Project Trainees• Dr. Nikola Stanchev, Research Associate• Sina Mashayekhi, PhD Candidate• Boubacar Diallo, MASc • Sol Lancashire, MASc candidate (part-

time)• Alex Corbett, MASc candidate (part-

time)• Bruce Haines, MASc candidate • Nina Chen, MASc candidate • Andy Tsai, BASc• Ahad Shafiq, BASc• Edgar Cave, Senior Undergraduate• Lawrence Penkar, Senior Undergraduate


Industry Advisory PanelAn expert team provides us with insights and advice!• Kip Morison, CTO, BC Hydro• Keith Martin, CTO, Tantalus Systems• Lee Vishloff, President, Nebula

Manufacturing• Sam Shi, CTO, Corinex Communications• Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO, TELUS• Dragan Nerandzic, CTO, Ericsson• Wen Tong, CTO, Huawei Technologies• Yann LeHelloco, CTO, Mentum• Yves Lostanlen, CTO, Siradel• Philippe Guillemette, CTO, Sierra Wireless


Avoiding Risk!Propagation and interference models help business manage risk and avoid unpleasant surprises. • Will the wireless link be reliable? • Will the link meet expectation and

drive revenue? • Will the link be over engineered or

barely adequate?• Will the link work as well in the

field as it did on paper?


Conceptual Design

System Engineering

Implementation

System Integration

Manufacturing

System Deployment & Operation

SoftwareSimulationTools

HardwareSimulators

RF PlanningTools

Propagation and

Interference Models


Propagation Channels and Impairments• The nature of propagation

channels and their impairments depends upon:– The distance between transmitter and

receiver– The nature and distribution of

intervening obstacles– The nature and distribution of

surrounding scatterers– The radiation patterns and heights of

the transmitting and receiving antennas


Our StrategyWork with our industry partners to:• Identify key physical differences

between conventional and Smart Grid scenarios.

• Identify impairments that are likely to impact Smart Grid performance.

• Devise experiments that will reveal the nature of such impairments.

• Collect measurement data and then reduce into models useful in design and simulation.


Our StrategyDivide deployment scenarios into three categories, develop models for selected propagation impairments and interference• Household – ranges from 1-20 m; picocell

configurations• Neighbourhood– ranges from 20-1000 m; microcell

configurations• Wide Area – ranges from 500 m – 20 km;

macrocell configurations


Propagation Van2002 Chevy Astro van• 8 ft x 5 ft cargo area• 25 U equipment rack • 2 kW electrical system– 2 kW inverter– 2 kW generator– 440 Ah batteries

• Cable passthroughs• Laptop mount and

backup display.• Few other research

labs in Canada have this capability.


Propagation Van


Multicarrier Channel Sounder

Vector Signal

Analyzer

Base Station

Laptop

Rb Freq Std

Vector Signal

GeneratorLaptop

Rb Freq Std

PA

GPS Rcvr

Propagation Van

Multicarrier Signal

GPS Rcvr


Fading on Multiple Carrier Signals

• Channel impairments cause the multiple carriers (including pilot tones) to fade in characteristic ways

Transmitted Signal


Measurement Cart


Carrier Frequency and Doppler Rate• We have found a linear relationship

between depth of fading (Ricean K-factor) and carrier frequency over the range 200 MHz – 2 GHz.

• On mobility NLOS links, Doppler rate is proportional to carrier frequency.

• However, on fixed NLOS links, we found little variation in Doppler rate with carrier frequency – unsuspected until now!

• Our work has thus revealed a fundamental difference between mobility and fixed NLOS links.


Shadow Fading and Terminal Height• In Smart Grid scenarios, terminals are

often located at poletop height – 6-7 m; Compare to 1-2 m for conventional models..

• Previous work has found that path gain increases with terminal height.

• Our studies have found that shadow fading increases by 3-4 dB as terminal height increases from pedestrian height to mean building height then decreases as the terminal height increases further – unsuspected until now!

• .


Other Accomplishments• MITACS Accelerate Grant - Study on the

Frequency Response of Overhead Transmission Lines (Nina Chen, MASc candidate with Dr. James Toth, BC Hydro)

• In-Kind Contribution from Communications Research Centre: Porting CRC’s Spectrum Explorer to our Agilent N6841A RF Sensors for use in Spectrum Occupancy Studies

• Collaboration with Mentum: Updating Mentum Planet for Planning Smart Grid Wireless Networks


Next Steps• Angle of Arrival Distribution Studies• Interference Studies• Spectrum Occupancy Studies.• Comparison of Alternative Channel Reuse

Schemes for WiMAX Networks• Influencing Industry Canada Requirements

for Directional Antennas at WiMAX Terminals.

• Influencing Industry Canada Policy for ISM Band Applications

• Power Line Channel Models


An Invitation• If you have a Smart Grid airlink issue

that you would like help to resolve, please contact us!

Prof. Dave Michelson [email protected]

Documents

Project 3.1 Universal Communications Infrastructure Prof Dave Michelson, UBC Students: Sina Mashayekhi , Bruce Haines and the UBC Radio Science Lab team