Analyses of a low-bit rate hybrid PLC-wireless single-relay channel

Abstract

This dissertation aims at discussing improvements of performance and reliability of lowbit rate data communication technologies applied to smart grids and internet of things. In this regard, a comprehensive analysis of the ergodic achievable data rate and the outage probability of the so-called low-bit rate hybrid power line communication-wireless singlerelay channel (HSRC) model, which jointly and in parallel uses power line and wireless channels for data transmission, is presented. In order to highlight the benefits of such hybrid channel model for the target applications when the relative position of relay node changes, optimal and uniform power allocations under sum power constraint, amplifyand-forward (AF) and decode-and-forward (DF) cooperative protocols are taken into account. Moreover, this dissertation discusses the so-called incomplete HSRC which is characterized by the loss of one data communication link or node communication interface in a HSRC. Numerical results show that the HSRC and incomplete HSRC remarkably outperform power line or wireless single-relay channels for all considered positions of the relay node and the chosen cooperative protocols. Furthermore, these results show that the relative distances among source, relay and destination nodes significantly impact the achievable data rate and outage probabilities. In addition, the impact of each missing data communication link or node communication interface (incomplete HSRC) when the relay position, relative to source and destination nodes, changes is quantified. Finally, but not the least, it is shown that the performance difference between AF and DF protocols reduces when the HSRC model is taken into account and that the best relay position is in the middle between source and destination nodes.