The PC Sound Card as a Voltage Measurement Platform in Power System Applications

Abstract

In this thesis document, the feasibility of using a PC sound card to replace traditional data acquisition (DAQ) devices for the measurement of voltage signals in power system applications is discussed. Communication between software applications and sound card hardware is established through the use of the PortAudio software library for audio applications. A PC sound card is tested using the example application of voltage harmonic measurement structured to be consistent with the requirements found in IEC standard 61000-4-7. It is found that a PC sound card is capable of continuous recording under the load of heavy calculation and signal processing for an indefinite period of time.