Affiliations: [a] Departamento de Eletrônica e Sistemas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – UFPE, Avenida da Arquitetura, s/n Cidade Universitária, Recife-PE, Brasil | [b] Companhia Energética de Pernambuco – Neoenergia, Avenida João de Barros, Boa Vista, Recife-PE, Brazil
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: José Mario A.M. Oliveira, Departamento de Eletrônica e Sistemas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – UFPE, Avenida da Arquitetura, s/n Cidade Universitária, CEP: 50740-550, Recife-PE, Brasil. Tel.: +55 812126 7118; E-mail: josemario.oliveira@ufpe.br
Abstract: This paper describes an array of eight Yagi–Uda antennas, a beamforming circuit (BFC) and an antenna control system (ACS), which form a switched smart antenna structure, the principal feature of which is that its main lobe is maximized using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method, while its side lobes are minimized. The application of the PSO integrated with the 3D electromagnetic simulation software Ansys HFSS has achieved excellent results, and has been validated in practical experiments. The results measured in the open field are in agreement with the simulations and are comparable with the arrangement of the energy distribution concessionaires. As expected, the gains obtained proved to be greater when the main lobes were pointed toward the objective angles. These characteristics meet the needs of supervisory control systems used by electricity distribution companies, which require high-gain RF communication networks in order to monitor electric switches in a distant area covered by the respective base transceiver stations. The entire setup herein described and tested has performed extremely well, and is certainly a promising approach by which to control the outstations of electricity distribution companies without the need to install additional repeaters.
