Diagnosis of Multi-Fault Wiring Network Using Time-Domain Reflectometry and Electromagnetism-Like Mechanism

Abstract

In this article, a novel method combining time-domain reflectometry and the electromagnetism-like mechanism is developed and applied to wiring network diagnosis. The proposed method consists of two steps. In the first step, the propagation along the cables, i.e., the time-domain reflectometry, is modeled using an RLCG circuit model. In the second step, the electromagnetism-like mechanism is combined with the developed wire propagation model to solve the inverse problem in order to deduce physical information about the defects in the wiring network from its measured time-domain reflectometry. Using experimental data, the proposed method was successfully applied to diagnose two faulty wiring networks of different configurations.

Keywords:

• wiring diagnosis
• time-domain reflectometry
• finite-difference time-domain method
• electromagnetism-like mechanism
• multi-conductor transmission lines