Configuration Description Language Research Articles

Virtual Digital Substation Test System and Interoperability Assessments

Interoperability testing and analysis tools provide a means for achieving and assuring the integrity of multivendor intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) data exchanges. However, the testing and analysis are very time consuming and error prone, and these problems worsen when a substation becomes large and complex during the engineering process, commission, replacement, maintenance, and extension. To address this challenge, this paper presents a virtual digital substation test system (VDSTS) with interoperability analysis tools for assessing and identifying the engineering challenges for the multiple-vendors digital substation. This VDSTS consists of three parts: (i) A virtual digital substation modelling for generating real-time digital substation primary plant operation and fault conditions, (ii) a standard IEC 61850-based substation protection, automation, and control (PAC) system architecture with multivendor IEDs and bay solutions, and (iii) multivendor Substation Configuration description Language (SCL) tools and in-house built data visualisation tool. The study focuses on the interoperability testing of sampled values (SV), generic object-oriented substation events (GOOSE), and manufacturing message specification (MMS) communication services, as defined in IEC 61850. The main issues identified are compatibility issues of SCL tools, protocol implementation issues, different information models, and application limitations. The outcomes will help utilities to reduce the risks associated with the general rollout of digital substations.

Design for Communication Network of Internet in On-line Monitoring System for Power Transmission and Transformation Equipment

The Internet of things (iot) for power transmission and transformation equipment is a systematic process that extends from smart grid to intelligent grid, which can guarantee the safe operation of power grid. However, due to various types of power transmission and transformation equipment and complex information composition, the Internet of things will be a network with high relevance and promiscuity in the physical and information space. The Internet of things of power transmission and transformation equipment is based on information model and communication network. It is necessary to deeply discuss the Internet of things of power transmission and transformation equipment based on intelligent detection and life cycle management. In this paper, IEC61850, an advanced Internet of things technology, is used for online monitoring system of power transmission and transformation equipment, and hierarchical structure is used for equipment transportation state. This system has good reliability and flexible extensibility, and can realize the free distribution of functions and the knowledge of system expansion. Moreover, it can use substation configuration description language.

A Novel SCL Configuration Method for Modeling Microgrids With IEC 61850

IEC 61850 is poised to be the communication standard of the future power networks. Due to its historical evolution, it focuses on substation automation and modeling its entities. There have been recent extensions in the standard's modeling to include other grid equipment as well as distributed generators. However, the configuration of the communication network, as it is outlined in IEC 61850-6, is very substation-focused and cannot be used for microgrids. The microgrid network is a wide-area network with multiple distributed generations (DGs) cannot be configured in a manner similar to a substation communication network detailed in IEC 61850-6. This is because the enhanced system configuration description language (SCL) files cannot be exchanged with each DG while this is not an issue for substation modeling. Also, this would result in multiple copies of enhanced SCL files and is not feasible to implement. Thus, there is a need to develop a process for configuring IEC 61850 based communication networks at the microgrid level. This paper proposes a central configurator and a step-by-step configuration procedure for modeling microgrids according to IEC 61850. Such a configurator assists in connecting IEDs in different locations and updates the system with the new deployment. The process is shown with a centralized microgrid protection scheme by employing a microgrid-level system configurator.

Web-Based Interfaces for Virtual C. elegans Neuron Model Definition, Network Configuration, Behavioral Experiment Definition and Experiment Results Visualization.

The Si elegans platform targets the complete virtualization of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and its environment. This paper presents a suite of unified web-based Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) as the main user interaction point, and discusses their underlying technologies and methods. The user-friendly features of this tool suite enable users to graphically create neuron and network models, and behavioral experiments, without requiring knowledge of domain-specific computer-science tools. The framework furthermore allows the graphical visualization of all simulation results using a worm locomotion and neural activity viewer. Models, experiment definitions and results can be exported in a machine-readable format, thereby facilitating reproducible and cross-platform execution of in silico C. elegans experiments in other simulation environments. This is made possible by a novel XML-based behavioral experiment definition encoding format, a NeuroML XML-based model generation and network configuration description language, and their associated GUIs. User survey data confirms the platform usability and functionality, and provides insights into future directions for web-based simulation GUIs of C. elegans and other living organisms. The tool suite is available online to the scientific community and its source code has been made available.

IEC 61850 SCL Validation Using UML Model in Modern Digital Substation

The IEC 61850 standard stipulates the Substation Configuration Description Language (SCL) file as a means to define the substation equipment, IED function and also the communication mechanism for the substation area network. The SCL is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based file which helps to describe the configuration of the substation Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED) including their associated functions. The SCL file is also configured to contain all IED capabilities including data model which is structured into objects for easy descriptive modeling. The effective functioning of this SCL file relies on appropriate validation techniques which check the data model for errors due to non-conformity to the IEC 61850 standard. In this research, we extend the conventional SCL validation algorithm to develop a more advanced validator which can validate the standard data model using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). By using the Rule-based SCL validation tool, we implement validation test cases for a more comprehensive understanding of the various validation functionalities. It can be observed from the algorithm and the various implemented test cases that the proposed validation tool can improve SCL information validation and also help automation engineers to comprehend the IEC 61850 substation system architecture.

IEC 61850 as backbone for smart PAC systems

This paper discusses a working definition of smartness in protection, automation and control systems (PACS) in substations. A summary is given about the standard IEC 61850 features that support smartness, i.e., the data model, the multiple communication services, and the system configuration description language (SCL). With help of known examples of application functions for control, supervision, and protection, the building of smart systems out of the modules of IEC 61850 is demonstrated. From the possible architectures, the standardized redundancy is explained. The process bus is exploited in detail since it is seen by users as the core of a smart substation. In this context, attention is given also to the time synchronization in the μs range over the communication network, a rather new part of the standard. In the last part, all features are summarized and it is concluded that IEC 61850 may really be named the backbone for smart PAC systems.

Auto-Mapping and Configuration Method of IEC 61850 Information Model Based on OPC UA

The open-platform communication (OPC) unified architecture (UA) (IEC62541) is introduced as a key technology for realizing a variety of smart grid (SG) use cases enabling relevant automation and control tasks. The OPC UA can expand interoperability between power systems. The top-level SG management platform needs independent middleware to transparently manage the power information technology (IT) systems, including the IEC 61850. To expand interoperability between the power system for a large number of stakeholders and various standards, this paper focuses on the IEC 61850 for the digital substation. In this paper, we propose the interconnection method to integrate communication with OPC UA and convert OPC UA AddressSpace using system configuration description language (SCL) of IEC 61850. We implemented the mapping process for the verification of the interconnection method. The interconnection method in this paper can expand interoperability between power systems for OPC UA integration for various data structures in the smart grid.

Enabling Efficient Engineering Processes and Automated Analysis for Power Protection Systems

The reliable operation of power networks depends on the correct configuration of protection systems. These systems involve the coordination of devices across a wide area, each with numerous setting parameters. Presently, protection settings data are typically stored in various vendor-specific proprietary formats, which are difficult to access, interchange, and manipulate automatically. Consequently, the engineering processes for implementing modern protection systems are extremely complex, involving multiple software tools from different vendors. This paper presents a novel solution to these challenges, through the use of the data model provided by the IEC 61850 standard, with the System Configuration description Language (SCL) format to represent protection settings data. The design of a Protection Setting Conversion Tool (PSCT) that can automatically convert existing settings data between proprietary formats and the SCL-based format is presented. A case study of its implementation demonstrates the benefits of the common representation of protection settings for network operators and other stakeholders. This paper also addresses the challenges that network operators face in migrating to the new approach from existing legacy protection devices and data formats. Adoption of these recommendations and design approaches would shift protection systems from being largely single-vendor solutions to becoming efficient and truly open platforms, capable of supporting future intelligent applications and tools such as automated protection settings validation, diagnostics, and system simulation.

Integration of IEC 61850 SCL and OPC UA to improve interoperability in Smart Grid environment

Integration of the several heterogeneous and geographically dispersed actors in Smart Grid environment is currently hampered by the usage of non-interoperable and proprietary automation solutions. Standards-compliant integration is an indispensable requirement for successful Smart Grid automation. The international standard IEC 61850 has been recognised as one of the fundamental components for reference Smart Grid architectures. Nevertheless, certain parts of the IEC 61850 definitions seem inadequate to compete with the accelerated Smart Grid evolution. For this reason, current literature presents solutions able to surpass the main limitations of the standard, improving harmonisation in Smart Grid; among them, there is integration of IEC 61850 data model with OPC UA information model. According to the current literature, integration of IEC 61850 with OPC UA does not involve the IEC 61850 engineering process, based on a particular language called Substation Configuration description Language (SCL). The paper will present a common Smart Grid scenario where interoperability could be improved extending the idea of the integration between IEC 61850 and OPC UA also to the SCL-based engineering capabilities of the IEC 61850 standard. The paper will present a proposal of mapping between IEC 61850 SCL and OPC UA, describing the relevant algorithm, its implementation and performance evaluation.

An Improvement of IED Configuration Tool and Modeling for Transformer Condition Monitoring IED

This paper analyzes the object-oriented modeling technology of IEC 61850 standard and the modeling steps of condition monitoring intelligent electronic devices (IED). Aiming at the problem of the existing configuration tools poor scalability for the IEC 61850 standard, a new design method of the IED configuration tool is brought up. Information model of transformer condition monitoring IED is established including logical device (LD), logical node (LN), data object (DO), data attribute (DA), dataset and report control block with the method mentioned above, and described with substation configuration description language.

IEC 61850-Based Information Model and Configuration Description of Communication Network in Substation Automation

Due to the lack of standard information model and description, the configuration of the communication network is still out of the unified and standard engineering process of substation automation, which may result in incorrect configuration and long engineering time. The IEC 61850-based comprehensive information model of the communication network and its description in substation configuration description language (SCL) files are proposed for standard, correct, and convenient configuration of the communication network. The information model is established by means of information extraction with function decomposition, and mapping of the management information base (MIB). The detailed configuration description is achieved by extending the existing SCL communication model in IEC 61850-6. The case study of a typical 220-kV substation demonstrates the validation and availability of the proposed information model and configuration description method, which comply with the current edition of IEC 61850 only requiring minor revisions. Moreover, the proposed information model has the potential to be utilized in online network monitoring and management instead of MIB.

An Improvement of IED Configuration Tool and Modeling for Transformer Condition Monitoring IED

This paper analyzes the object-oriented modeling technology of IEC 61850 standard and the modeling steps of condition monitoring intelligent electronic devices (IED). Aiming at the problem of the existing configuration tools poor scalability for the IEC 61850 standard, a new design method of the IED configuration tool is brought up. Information model of transformer condition monitoring IED is established including logical device (LD), logical node (LN), data object (DO), data attribute (DA), dataset and report control block with the method mentioned above, and described with substation configuration description language.

Research on Electrical Power System with Information Modeling and SCL Description of IED for Transformer Condition Monitoring Based on IEC61850

A transformer is a critical device in an electrical power system substation. Monitoring its condition, including insulation material statuses, is imperative. This article discusses the information modeling techniques of IEC61850 and modeling steps of condition-monitoring IED, analyzes the reporting service, focuses on the characteristics of transformer condition monitoring, rationally develops and makes use of logical nodes and data in the IEC61850 standard, conducts modeling for the actual intelligent electronic device (IED) of transformer condition monitoring and describes the model with substation configuration description language (SCL). The configuration file of this model has passed the test done with standard syntax (Schema mode).

NXD-Based SCL File Management and Dynamic Implementation in IEDs

In IEC61850 substation automation systems (SASs), substation configuration description language (SCL) is suggested to assure seamless information exchange among various intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) from different manufacturers in the form of unambiguous and standardized XML. In the paper, native XML database (NXD) is proposed to store and manage SCL files since NXD takes advantage over XML enabled database (XED) in maintaining information integrity that is the most important factor of SCL file management. And the detailed process of SCL file dynamic implementation in IEDs is demonstrated. According to information with different communication real-time requirements, configuration information from SCL files will be extracted in advance or only when the information is used. Finally, a testbed built by open source software Libxml2 under Linux system verifies the effectiveness of SCL file information extraction using Xpath.

QoS management specification support for multimedia middleware

Middleware technologies are now widely used in order to provide support for the interaction of systems relying on different hardware and operating systems. At present middleware platforms, however, do not provide enough support for both the configuration and reconfiguration of quality of service (QoS) management aspects of real-time applications such as distributed multimedia systems. That is, current middleware only provides support for the low-level specification of QoS properties. This paper presents an architecture description language (ADL) called Xelha for the high-level specification of QoS management in multimedia middleware whereas lower-level aspects can be tuned by using an aspect-oriented suite of languages referred to as resource configuration description language (RCDL). Tool support is also provided for the interpretation of the Xelha and RCDL languages.

Functional Active Monitoring System FLAME

The problem of operative monitoring of the state of a complex computer system aimed at preparing information required for operative control of the system in critical situations is a key problem on the stage of the system operation. An operative response to emergency situations in complex network structures and high-performance mass-parallel computer systems by means of traditional state control mechanisms, without help of modern technologies and without automation of this process, is now impossible. Nowadays, systems created for active monitoring of large-scale network structures, such as HP OpenView, Sun Net Manager, and others, are applied to systems with mass parallelism and to metacomputer structures. Such an approach has a number of disadvantages due to the fact that specific features of these systems are not completely taken into account and because of limited possibilities to make alterations during the system development. This paper presents results of the work on the creation of an active monitoring system that takes into account specific features of high-performance, multiprocessor, mass-parallel clusters. The paper discusses specific features of the system architecture, dynamic database structure, configuration description language, its syntax and semantics, and special forms. Examples illustrating the system functionality as applied to the supercomputer system MVS-1000M are presented.

Multiagent mission specification and execution

Specifying a reactive behavioral configuration for use by a multiagent team requires both a careful choice of the behavior set and the creation of a temporal chain of behaviors which executes the mission. This difficult task is simplified by applying an object-oriented approach to the design of the mission using a construction called an assemblage and a methodology called temporal sequencing. The assemblage construct allows building high level primitives which provide abstractions for the designer. Assemblages consist of groups of basic behaviors and coordination mechanisms that allow the group to be treated as a new coherent behavior. Upon instantiation, the assemblage is parameterized based on the specific mission requirements. Assemblages can be re-parameterized and used in other states within a mission or archived as high level primitives for use in subsequent projects. Temporal sequencing partitions the mission into discrete operating states with perceptual triggers causing transitions between those states. Several smaller independent configurations (assemblages) can then be created which each implement one state. The Societal Agent theory is presented as a basis for constructions of this form. The Configuration Description Language (CDL) is developed to capture the recursive composition of configurations in an architecture- and robot-independent fashion. The MissionLab system, an implementation based on CDL, supports the graphical construction of configurations using a visual editor. Various multiagent missions are demonstrated in simulation and on our Denning robots using these tools.