Measurement platform of mains zero crossing period for powerline communication

This paper investigates the mains signal behavior and non-idealities impact on zero crossing (ZC) signal already used for synchronization purpose in powerline communication (PLC) systems. A design of analog and digital stage for an experimental measurement platform is proposed to evaluate mains ZC periodicity with real conditions. Measurements were performed in real different environment: in lab, in home and in rural location to discern the particularity of each one of them. The proposed measurement procedure is also detailed. Obtained experimental results have shown that ZC detection present fluctuations composed of two components (stationary and impulsive). In impulsive one, four types of errors have been identified and analyzed for each environment. Measured errors shows fluctuant ZC periods sweep between 0.5ms and 10.2ms.