Résumé :

In the present days, digital communication is necessary in our society and in our lives. This is achieved
using a variety of technologies that can be wired or wireless. One of those uses the power-grid through
its powerlines and is called Powerline Communication (PLC).
In this configuration, every electrical conductor and power socket become an access point to a data
network. However, the transmission medium was not designed to carry data, the impairments
(unshielded cables, high attenuations with increasing frequency, multipath propagation phenomena,
rapid load variations) leading to highly time and localization depending signal degradation. As such,
powerlines are difficult to monitor and a temporal approach is needed to comprehend and analyze the
various communication performance metrics.
Considering the thesis context, the research presented in this work pertains to the study and monitoring
of the PLC transmission performance indicators through time in field conditions. Different performance
measurement tools have been conceived and tested in field conditions in the frame of three field trials,
both in NPLC (G3-PLC) and in BPLC (HPAV2), and through two distinct applications that are the smart
metering and a novel use-case of PLC for railway signaling purposes. NBPLC simulations and measurement
have also been realized in lab conditions to complement the field trials.
The work presented in this thesis proved that a temporal monitoring approach is necessary to study the
PLC performance indicator. Moreover, the field trials showed that PLC can be used for smart-metering
purposes on a low voltage and even on a medium voltage grid with satisfactory performance. As for
railway signaling applications, the novel communication architecture proved to be efficient.