Virtual Digital Substation Test System and Interoperability Assessments

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