Development of a test bed to investigate conducted and radiated emissions from power line communication networks

Power Line communications (PLC) also known as Broadband Power Line (BPL) is an economical alternative to communicate over existing power lines. Any communication device would only need to plug a PLC modem into the AC power socket located in the building to gain access to the high-speed internet depending on the speed of the PLC modem or the speed provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). Thus, it provides the homeowners or small businesses to use the electrical wiring within their premises without any modification. However, due to the unbalance signal line with mismatches due to switches, power outlet, etc. One of the disadvantages using Broadband over PLC network is large amount of common mode (CM) current will be generated. This in turn will cause significant amount of EMI during the propagation of data in the network as initially the power line cable is not designed for data communication. This report aims to develop and design a common mode (CM) choke that will reduce the CM conducted and radiated emissions from the power line. In order to design a CM choke, an in-depth research of the internal circuitry is required to understand how each component affects the current flow in the PLC network. Various positions of the PLC modem were selected for testing with the self-made CM choke. Hence, the CM choke with the most reduction of interferences will be selected for testing.Bachelor of Engineerin