Time-efficient pulse-coupled oscillators based trustworthy synchronization for distributed harmonic sensing

Distributed harmonic measurement is one of the key characters for power quality evaluation in residential monitoring networks. Synchronization of the electrical sensing node of the network is important in distributed harmonic measurement. The synchronization method needs to be time-efficient, accurate and trustworthy. Pulse-coupled oscillators (PCO) has been imported as the synchronization algorithm for its fast synchronization rate and scalability. This paper theoretically analyzes the synchronization criteria for distributed networks and, to raise the measuring reliability, proposes a Quadratic Polynomial Model(QPM) for time-efficient and trustworthy synchronization. Factors that affect PCO performance are analysed, the PCO dynamic model optimized to improve the synchronize rate and parameters are verified with simulation. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed model effectively reduced the elapsed time to reach synchronization without increasing energy cost and complexity. Finally the effectiveness of PCO is certificated through applying the method in distributed harmonic measurement.