Power Cable Network Topology Reconstruction Using Multi-carrier Reflectometry for Fault Detection and Location in Live Smart Grids

Several approaches have been proposed and applied for reconstructing the topology of an unknown network. Although, promising results have been obtained, offline passive testing was only accessible. On the other hand, a wide range of wiring networks embedded in critical systems as power grids and power-plants can not be easily shutdown for testing purposes. Accordingly, we will propose in this paper an approach for diagnosing obscured networks in an on-line live mode, thanks to the Orthogonal Multi-tone Time Domain Reflectometry (OMTDR). Optimization techniques namely the genetic algorithm will be integrated with the OMTDR method to enable revealing the topology of the black-boxed tested network. Practical real-life experimental setups are dedicated to validate the proposed approach.