Performance Analysis of the Matched-Pulse-Based Fault Detection

The problem of fault detection and location in wire networks has gained an increasing importance in the last few years [1]. Wired networks are found in all modern systems, and are used to transmit different signals (control, alarm, etc.). That is why the issue of safe and reliable wiring systems is among the primary concerns of researchers and government agencies today [2]. There are several methods for wire testing, such as visual inspection, impedance testing [1], and reflectometry methods which are widely used today to help detecting and locating wire faults. These methods send a predefined testing signal down the wire network to be examined. They include Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), which uses a fast rise time step or pulsed signal as the testing signal, Frequency Domain Reflectometry [3] which uses multiple sinusoidal signals, sequence TDR [4] which uses pseudo noise, etc. Generally, hard faults (open and short circuits) are detectable through standard reflectometry, while soft faults (damaged insulation, etc.) are more critical to detect, especially when dealing with complex wire networks configurations. In [5], we introduced the Matched-Pulse approach (MP), based on the properties of Time Reversal [6], as an improvement of the existing standard TDR. The MP method proposes to adapt the testing signal to the network under test, instead of using a predefined testing signal, as opposed to reflectometry methods. We have