Additive asynchronous and cyclostationary impulsive noise limits communication performance in OFDM powerline communication (PLC) systems. Conventional OFDM receivers assume additive white Gaussian noise and hence experience degradation in communication performance in impulsive noise.Alternate designs assume a parametric statistical model of impulsive noise and use the model parameters in mitigating impulsive noise. These receivers require overhead in training and parameter estimation, and degrade due to model and parameter mismatch, especially in highly dynamic environments. In this paper, we model impulsive noise as a sparse vector in the time domain without any other assumptions, and apply sparse Bayesian learning methods for estimation and mitigation without training. We propose three iterative algorithms with different complexity vs. performance trade-offs: (1) we utilize the noise projection onto null and pilot tones to estimate and subtract the noise impulses; (2) we add the information in the data tones to perform joint noise estimation and OFDM detection; (3) we embed our algorithm into a decision feedback structure to further enhance the performance of coded systems.When compared to conventional OFDM PLC receivers, the proposed receivers achieve SNR gains of up to 9 dB in coded and 10 dB in uncoded systems in the presence of impulsive noise. Index TermsAsynchronous impulsive noise, cyclostationary noise, PLC, OFDM, sparse Bayesian learning.

Future Smart Grid systems will intelligently monitor and control energy flows in order to improve the efficiency and reliability of power delivery. This monitoring and control requires low-delay, highly reliable communication between customers, local utilities and regional utilities.A vital part of future Smart Grids is the two-way communication links between smart meters at the customer sites and a (decentralized) command and control center operated by the local utility. To enable these two-way communication links, narrowband powerline communication (PLC) systems operating in the 3-500 kHz band are attractive because they can be deployed over existing outdoor power lines. Power lines, however, have traditionally been designed for one-directional power delivery and remain hostile environments for communication signal propagation. In this article, we review signal processing approaches to model channel impairments and impulsive noise and mitigate their effects in narrowband PLC systems. We examine ways to improve the communication performance based on current and emerging standards.

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