High-Voltage Electric Power Transmission Monitoring by Micro-Motion Estimation using Synthetic Aperture Radar Data

Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines which facilitate this movement are known as a transmission network. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and end-users, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. Efficient long-distance transmission of electric power requires high voltages to reduce the losses produced by heavy current. In this case when electrons pass through the conductor, they cause coherent vibrations sometimes generating the acoustic signals. The problem of carrying out persistent, precise and spatially distributed monitoring of electric transmission line health is to use a large number of sensors physically distributed everywhere and somehow transmit the results to a control station. The use of satellite synthetic aperture radar data could be a viable solution of persistent and wide-Area high-voltage vibration monitoring. In this paper we conduct a comprehensive survey on how to monitor both movements in terms of vibrational displacement, due to weathering, and those due to electricity transmission. The results demonstrate the technical feasibility of an operational use of satellite synthetic aperture radar for these purposes in the very short term.