PROCESS BUS AUTOMATION

IN SUBSTATION
Technologies of future
Substation Automation System
■ IEC 61850 based substations are generically named “Digital
Substations”.
■ The aim of digital substations is to digitise the information
near the source of information
■ Older numerical relays had proprietary protocols
■ IEC provided a solution to this problem and introduced a
specification for a universal communications protocol in
IEC61850.
A digital substation
■ Three Functional Levels
– Station Control Level
– Protection and Bay Control area level
– Primary Equipment Process level.
■ These levels communicate through Optical network, known as Bus.
– Station Bus: Optical communication between Station Control Level and
Protection & Bay Control area level. (IEC-61850-8-1)
– Process Bus: Optical communication between Protection & Bay Control area
level and Primary Equipment Process level. (IEC-61850-9-2).
Principle of Process Bus
■ IEC 61850-9-2 addresses the process bus “Specific Communication Services Mapping(SCSM)-Sampled
Values over IEC 8802-3”.
■ It provides data mapping to transmit analog sampled values directly over the Ethernet layer.
– Two modes exist for sending the sampled values
■ Protection: 80 samples/cycle.
■ Measurement: 256 samples/cycle.
■ Ethernet Network, 100 Mb/s
■ IEC 61850-9-2 LE for Sampled Values “SV”
– Current measurement (CT)
– Voltage measurement (VT)
■ IEC 61850-8-1 GOOSE Service
– Status position of Circuit Breaker / Switches (CB)
– Trip signals from protections to CBs (Trip)
– Commands from Control Systems (Open/Close)
– Others (monitoring status reports, health, settings…)
■ Time synchronisation
– Microsec accuracy required
■ Sampled Value Transmission
– Unidirectional link (MU to IED)
– •Physical layer : Optic fibre (copper optional)
– •Data Link layer : Ethernet 100 Mbit/s

■ Application Layer : IEC 61850-9-2 “Light Edition” guideline to aid implementation

and interoperability
– Sampling rate : 80 or 256 samples per cycle
– Neutral current and/or voltage may be measured, or derived
– Sampled values are multicast on the LAN
– Defines Logical Device “MU”
– Synchronising of sampling
IEC 61850-9-2LE Sampled Values

Each SV message has 4 voltages, 4 currents

•Primary values, quality info
•Current : 1mA to 2.14 MA, Voltage : 10mV to 21.4 MV

Merging Unit – Typical Naming

AMU : Analogue Merging Unit
Interface with conventional instrument transformers

DMU : Digital Merging Unit

Interface with CB / isolators / earth switches

CMU : Condition Monitoring Merging Unit

DMU with condition monitoring features

NMU : Numerical Merging Unit

Interface with digital instrument transformers
SCU and SAMU
Conventional Vs Process bus
Sampling Synchronisation

■ Protection functions/algorithms require all input quantities to be supplied in

‘real time’
■ Relay inputs may be from multiple MUs
o Substation layout
o Customer specifications
■ Ex: Distance Protection (Voltage & Current)
Both voltage & current supplied by one MU; synchronization provided by the
MU
Voltage from MU1 and Current from MU2; synchronization by common time
reference input to MU
Synchronisation Techniques and Monitoring
■ Sampled Value frames carry synchronisation info
– Time tags (count) relative to the start of the ‘sec’
– Identifier for sync source – Global, Local or No Sync
■ Sampling Synchronisation – Accuracy
– Time source accuracy +/- 1µs
– Sampling across multiple MUs synchronised to within +/‐ 4µs
– MU should be capable of compensating network delays > 2µs
■ Sampling Synchronisation – 1 PPS
– 1PPS signal, transmitted by fibre as medium
■ Rise and fall time < 20ns
■ Clock source : Typically based on GPS
■ Global 1PPS: GPS is alive, pulse width between 5μs and 500 ms
■ Local 1PPS : Pulse width between 0.9μs and 1.1μs
■ No Sync : Merging Unit ‘hold-over’
IEDs for Process Bus
Applications Relay -
Example
Interface for -8-1
Px4x Process Bus GOOSE
Interface
Interface for -9-
2LE Sampled
Values
Interfacing SV to IEDs
■ Point to Point Connection
– Feasible when all the SV required by a relay are available from a single MU
– Simple network, minimum delay, minimal engineering effort
■ Networked Connections
– Required if the SV required by a relay are from multiple MU, eg: transformer
IED, busbar IED
– Ethernet switch(es) involved, possibility of additional delays and sample jitter;
substation-hardened switches required, similar to Station Bus applications.
– Network Redundancy to be ensured.
Merging Units
• Merging units perform all the digital
data processing necessary to produce
a precise, time-aligned output data
stream of sampled values according to
the IEC 61850-9-2 standard

• Includes tasks such as sampling,

analogue to digital conversion,
scaling, precise real-time
referencing to the start of the last
second and message formatting

• Design varies with the applied

technology of the instrument
transformers (eg: optical, Rogowski,
voltage dividers, or conventional wound
instrument transformers), the switchgear
type and mounting space available
Ethernet Switches in Process Bus
■ What are the requirements for switches on Process Bus ?
• Industrial, substation-hardened
• Switches should be managed, to optimise LAN performance
• Check the number of Fibre / Copper ports available and compare with the application
requirements
• Switches that are ‘transparent clocks’ for IEEE 1588, where required for time
synchronisation
• !! Protection scheme is dependent on switches !!
• Typically, switches would be located with protection / BCU
NCIT
NCIT Advantages
■ Cost Savings (particularly at voltages above 200kV)
– Compact and lightweight primary current and voltage transformers
– Space-efficient, easily transportable
■ Digital Standard IEC 61850-9.2 - Interoperability
– Interoperability between conventional CT/VTs, other vendors supporting IEC 61850-
9.2, and test equipment
– Ease of integration in the Total Digital Substation.
■ Safety - Reliability - Availability
– No explosion risk
– No wired cross-site CT connection
■ Measurement Improvement
– No saturation, no ferroresonance, accurate transient response
– High bandwidth: Wide dynamic range for Protection short circuits, whilst retaining
accuracy for low-current Measurement
Economical Factors in the Process Bus
Automation
■ Reduced Substation footprint
(installation of NCITs)
■ Reduced cost of civil works (Cable
Trench, Equipment foundations)
■ Reduced cost of earth grid ( due to
reduced area)
■ Savings in the Cost of Copper cable
■ No requirement of air conditioned
Kiosks

■ Cost of Merging Units

■ Cost of battery bank
Operational Advantages in Process bus
■ Immunity to Induced voltages.
■ Immunity to maloperation due to DC earth fault.
■ Easier engineering and troubleshooting
■ Faster restoration times.
■ Enhanced operator safety
■ Automated testing
■ Online testing from remote.
Challenges
■ Adapt the existing protective relays to SV inputs and algorithm to accommodate the
same.
■ Develop Cost effective sampling devices.
■ Ensure interoperability among suppliers.
■ Define testing philosophy and methodology
■ Develop an architechture which is dependable as well as economical
New Avenues
■ Power Transformer online monitoring.
– Cooling Efficiency
– Ageing
– Oil Condition
– Bushing Condition
■ Instrument Transformer
– Voltage drift watch
■ Circuit Breakers
– SF6 Density watch
– I2t history
– Tripping and Closing times monitoring

– BIG Data and Associated learning

THANKS