A new development platform for the next generation of

power system control center functionalities for hybrid

AC-HVDC transmission systems
Christoph Brosinsky‫כ‬, André Kummerow†, André Naumann‫ככ‬, Arnd Krönigi, Stephan Balischewski'
and Dirk Westermann‫כ‬
‫כ‬Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany; †Fraunhofer ISOB-AST Ilmenau, Germany ‫ככ‬Fraunhofer IFF Magdeburg, Germany;
i
Siemens AG, Nürnberg, Germany; 'Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany

Abstract—New technologies, such as HVDC-links, will play a
major role in future transmission system operation. The
application of HVDC systems or flexible AC transmission
systems (FACTS), introduce new fast dynamics, which add
controllability to the power system. Additionally, state of the art
technology such as phasor measurement unit (PMU) based wide
area monitoring systems (WAMS) enables new methods for the
next generation of power system monitoring and control
systems. To develop new functionalities for control centers a new
development platform for dynamic simulation studies of control
and operation functionalities for AC-HVDC systems is
introduced. Therefore, a detailed understanding of every
component of the distributed system is required. Hence, this
paper discusses the components of the development platform
comprising a real-time hardware in the loop (HIL) simulation
system, the communication system and the control center itself.
Furthermore, first new control center functionalities are also
described in this paper.
Index Terms—Control Center, HVDC, PMU, WAMS
I. INTRODUCTION
To optimize and enhance the existing AC-transmission
capacity Point-to-Point-HVDC links are foreseen in Germany.
New functionalities and applications need to be implemented
into recent control center technology to build up a flexible
monitoring and control system which includes new
components like:
x WAMS based on synchronized PMUs,
x Modern communication platforms (e.g. IEC 61850)
and ICT technologies (e.g. middleware solutions,
intelligent substations),
x Fast acting grid components for system regulation
(e.g. HVDC Systems or FACTS).
There has been an approach to build a development
platform for future power system control center functionalities
before in [1]as well as a PMU test bed has been proposed in
[2]. A review about present control center technology and a
vision of the next generation monitoring, analysis and control
functions is given in [3]. The platform presented in this paper
extends those, by adding HVDC-grid and FACTS
compatibility and considers fast monitoring technologies (e.g.
PMU) as well as aspects of communication technology as
enabler for new functionalities implemented in the next
generation of transmission system control centers.
A. Increased situational awareness in control centers
Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
systems are traditionally used for the data transfer between
control centers and substations in power systems within
seconds [4]. Modern PMU systems measure the amplitude and
phase angle of voltages and currents with much higher
resolution. Accuracy of synchronization for modern PMUs is
about ±1—s, while modern phasor data concentrators (PDC)
acquire synchronized phasor data from several hundred PMU
supporting a message rate up to 240 messages per second [2].
Fig. 1 shows the difference between both concepts.
Figure 1. Comparison between SCADA and PMU measurement of real
power (upper curve) and reactive power (lower curve) [4]
PMU sensor networks increase the observability of
transient events in power systems and can improve various

This paper is a partly result of the project DGCC (03ET7541D) funded by

the German federal ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) as
well as by the German federal ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)
as part of the funding initiative "Future-proof Power Grids".

‹,(((
control center applications. In consequence of the increased Control systems (WAMPACS) realized by synchronized PMU
data volume and to meet the requirements for faster and more and a phasor data processor (PDP).
reliable control strategies, new concepts for information and
Communication
communication technology (ICT) need to be implemented in Control Layer
Layer
Field Layer
the power transmission system. Those strategies mainly focus
on data storage and processing tasks from the control center to Spectrum Power 7 Adaptive
Grid simulator
other management levels – like the implementation of (State-of-the-Art SCADA) Middleware
HVDC Grid
intelligent substations or middleware solutions (e.g. cloud (Hardware / Software)
computing, multi-agent systems). Therefore, new
New
communication standards (e.g. IEC 61850) are used to SCADA
AC Grid
exchange online-process and status information on station IEC 60870-5-104 (Hardware / Software)
Fast applications
IEC 61850
level [5]. Database IEEE C37.118
New PMU PMU
B. Increased dynamic control of grid disturbances Applications
With the ability of monitoring transient events in the grid
and online-calculation of power system stability, the control Figure 2. Principal scheme of the proposed development platform
capabilities in transmission control centers can be enhanced.
Especially remedial action scheme (RAS) systems benefit The communication layer connects field and control layer
from PMU sensor data and enable fast and reliable control and will be used for testing a new concept of adaptive
strategies [6]. middleware [8]. The link is realized using different
communication protocols e.g. IEC 60870-5-104, IEC 61850
For the mitigation or damping of power oscillations and IEEE C37.118 for phasor data, each taking a specific role
resulting from disturbances, different technologies are in communication which is discussed in chapter III. The need
available like power system stabilizer, turbine fast valving, for different protocol types becomes comprehensible
breaking resistors, capacitor / reactor switching. Power considering Fig. 3, which shows time frames of different
electronic means comprise FACTS controllers and HVDC processes and power system dynamics a future control center
systems which can instantly stabilize the power system. faces.
FACTS controllers (e.g. STATCOM, SVC or TCSC) can be
Transient Steady State
deployed in series and/or in shunt to the grid and influence
directly or indirectly active power, reactive power or the line Harmonics
Fault Tap Scheduling &
clearing change optimisation
AC Time

voltage [6], [7].

Frames

Primary Secondary
Point-to-Point-HVDC links or meshed HVDC grids can freq. freq.
control control
interconnect wide-spread grid areas to transfer electrical
Tertiary
energy and support the AC grid. Most of the FACTS Fault
freq. control
DC Time

clearing
Frames

controllers and HVDC converters are based on VSC- Secondary

technology and can rapidly adapt their active and reactive Converter Primary
8DC
Power flow
switching 8DC control rescheduling*
power flow infeed, which adds controllability to the power control*
system.
Protection &
SCADA /EMS
ICT Time

FACTS
Frames

II. GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE SYSTEM Ethernet

PMU WAMPACS
reporting
The proposed dynamic control center test bed and
time in s 10-3 100 103
demonstrator is based on a state of the art SCADA control *
center technology provided by Siemens (see chapter IV). It out of project scope
Figure 3. AC-, DC- and ICT time frames of power system dynamics [9]–[11]
will be used to develop and test new applications up to a
complete redesign of basic SCADA functionalities to meet the
requirements for future hybrid AC-HVDC systems. The III. COMMUNICATION ARCHITECTURE
control center demonstrator located at the Power System A. General approach
Group of Technische Universität Ilmenau is coupled with the
real-time simulation system (RTS) located in the lab of the As described in chapter II the proposed system consists of
Power System Group of Otto-von-Guericke University, several functions, while the whole system functionality is only
Magdeburg. Therefore, a secure communication is given by an interaction between all components. For the
implemented using a virtual private network (VPN). The seamless interaction, appropriate communication protocols
concept of the distributed demonstrator as shown in Fig. 2 between the different components must be applied [12]. The
comprises three layers. The control layer is based on a state of innovative functions which are in project focus will make
the art control center technology and additionally consists new protocol extensions necessary, since not all required data
developed applications depending on data provided by the fast models might be available in the communication interface
databases. The field layer contains the real-time grid simulator protocol standards [13].
built by a HIL simulation system, hard- and software models Fig. 4 shows a simplified general structure of the
of power system assets, Wide Area Monitoring, Protection and components in the system. The ports representing the

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component interfaces are depicted by small squares. As one
can see, several protocols are used for communication in the
system, which are explained below.
Figure 4. Components and interface overview of the system
B. Used interface protocols
1) IEC 60870-5-104
This protocol is the conventional SCADA data exchange
protocol used for the communication between the control
center and the station similar to DNP3 [14]. This standard
defines a robust and simple communication for monitoring
and control tasks using TCP/IP as an underlying protocol
layer. Although it is quite powerful, it becomes more and
more obsolescent in recent implementations [15], since the
used data models are not sufficient any more for the increasing
complexity of the power system. Nevertheless, this protocol is
used in the project since on the one hand some of the
proprietary components use it and on the other hand the
interoperation using different protocols can be tested.
2) IEEE C37.118
The IEEE C37.118 [16] is used explicitly to transport
measured phasor data from PMU to the control center or to
other proxies, where the phasor data can be processed. By the
usage of highly precise and time synchronized synchro phasor
data, powerful system monitoring algorithms can be applied.
3) IEC 61850
The IEC 61850 [17] is a modern communication protocol
for power systems, which includes a complex data model and
the definition of appropriate data exchange services. It can
relieve the IEC 60870-5-104 protocol since it covers its
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functionality and adds more features (like self-describing data
models, unified engineering process, etc.) to handle the
increasing power network complexity [18]. Manual extensions
of the data model will be necessary, since the data models
defined are not sufficient to support all functionalities of the
demonstrator.
4) IEC 61970
The IEC 61970 [19] includes the common information
model (CIM) which describes an interface for data exchange
between different processes in the control center. Since its use
is mostly internal, it is not visualized in Fig. 4.
IV. SETUP OF THE DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM
The platform for the development of the next generation
power system control functions for hybrid AC-HVDC systems
consists of several components shown in Fig. 4.
A. Transmission system control center
The control center demonstrator (see Fig. 5) is based on
several servers of current generation, organized in a server
rack. Core of the control center is the state of the art control
center software Spectrum Power 7TM which comprises the
following standard functionalities and applications:
x SCADA and advanced user interface,
x Transmission Network Applications (TNA),
x Dynamic Security Assessment (DSA),
x Phasor Data Processing,
x Information Model Management (IMM).
Figure 5. Control Center at Technische Universität Ilmenau
Each application is located on one of the servers or runs on
a virtual server environment. Based on these standard
components several advanced control center functionalities are
included, which provide dynamic observability, improved
monitoring, optimal power flow (OPF) based methodologies,
intelligent evaluation of data streams and support remedial
action schemes by application of preventive or corrective
measures to avoid or mitigate future problems and thereby
increase power system stability [20], [21].
B. Real-time simulation system
The requirements for the demonstrator system are shown
in Table I. The real-time simulation server based on Opal RT,
used for HIL simulations compiles and maps parts of the grid
model automatically to the CPU cores to avoid overruns and optimal power flow (SCOPF) enables a set-point adaptation to
loosing real-time capability. This allows to feed back results prevent critical contingencies in advance [23]. Additionally,
by analogue /digital in- and outputs, which will be considered corrective actions allow for a fast adaptation of VSC set-points
in the following simulation step, e.g. a voltage dip at the if a critical equipment outage occurs in order to re-establish a
connected bus. This allows a complete integration of existing secure and stable system state. The corrective aspect
hardware in the simulation system. The principle of HIL comprises a corrective SCOPF calculation and local activation
modelling of a HVDC link is described in Fig. 6. Detailed at the VSCs based on characteristic fault pattern, which can be
information about the hardware model of the HVDC link is derived from DSA time series. To identify contingencies
provided in [22]. A high amount of data needs to be which can mitigated by preventive measures, is a central
aggregated from simulation and HIL measurement units, approach of the new control center applications. Another
requiring continuous communication to the control center. approach to deal with contingencies at the VSC-substation
(local) is based on a comparison between offline data
TABLE I. REQUIREMENTS OF THE REAL-TIME SIMULATOR (transferred from control center to substation) and local online
measurements. The time series corresponding to each VSC
Simulator Part Simulator Requirement station’s AC measurements are thereby derived and
x IEC 60870-4-104 transmitted to the referring VSC controller local database. Fig.
Communication
x IEEE C37.118 7 illustrates the overall approach.
Modules
x IEC 61850
x HVDC Models
x Stationary and dynamic simulation TNA DSA
x Online parameter change
Power System
x External models (e.g. Matlab/ Simulink)
Simulator Check for Contingencies Time Series
x Analog and digital in- and outputs
x PMU emulation
x Real-time simulation (time step = 50—s)
Preventive Corrective Characteristic
SCOPF SCOPF Fault Pattern
Real Time Simulator
L1
X1
Preventive Set-
~ Nu·X1 List of Corrective Actions
point Adaptation
= Ni·L1
~
= Figure 7: OPF in AC-HVDC Grids based on DSA and TNA contingencies

= Fig. 8 shows the resulting evaluation for each critical

= ~ contingency and the evaluated impact on system integrity for
~ Ni·L2 each measure calculated in DSA. HVDC and FACTS devices
Nu·X2
extend the count of measures and thereby improve the latitude
X2
of power system operation. The indicated risk factor shown in
L2
Fig. 8 is calculated by a fuzzy logic which is described in [24].
Grid Simulator (Software) HVDC Model (Hardware)
Figure 6. Hardware in the loop simulation setup for a HVDC link VI. CONCLUSION
A new platform for the development of the next generation
V. APPLICATON STUDIES power system control functions for hybrid AC-HVDC systems
has been introduced. Based on state of the art control center
Various events, such as equipment outages or
technology, implemented by transmission system operators
disturbances, trigger dynamic phenomena in an electric power
worldwide, it also allows for the anticipation of the path for
system. Modeling, analyzing and optimizing the dynamic
upgrading existing power system control systems. The
performance are key requirements to ensure the stability and
platform is an enabler for different new methodologies for
security of a power system. The control center TNA
online system analysis and operation in different time frames
determines different operational states of the grid on a regular
enhancing power system stability. Contemporary technology
basis. It executes a contingency analysis periodically, event
such as PMU based WAMS enable new methodologies and
based or on operator request. Additionally, the Dynamic
faster controllability of the power system. The complexity of
Security Assessment tool (SIGUARD® DSA), analyzes
the development platform is illustrated by discussing all
possible contingencies and assesses their effect on dynamic
system components, while detailed understanding of those, is
system stability. It provides the operator with an overview of
a basic requirement for further research. Future work will
the current and near-future state of the system. DSA performs
investigate coordinated operation of dynamic grid control
for each critical contingency a central time-domain simulation.
centers, functionalities for operation of meshed DC systems,
A brief description of the DSA methodology is given in [20].
Remedial Action Schemes and will also comprise the design
The results of the contingency analysis of the TNA and of an advanced graphical user interface to give operators the
DSA applications can be applied subsequently by novel possibility to use such applications in the daily work schedule
developed functionalities: A preventive security constrained without being troubled by too much information.

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 1 Post -
Contingency
Risk Factor
0.5
Effektivness of
Measure
Pre -
Contingency
0 (DNP3). New York: Institute of Electrical and
Past Current Future
System States System State System States
Figure 8. Assessment of contingencies in DSA and mitigation strategies
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