AUTOMATION AND DIGITIZATION IN SUBSTATIONS AND UTILITY NETWORKS

IEC 61850 IN SUBSTATION AUTOMATION

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 STATION LEVEL
AUTOMATION AND DIGITIZATION IN SUBSTATIONS AND UTILITY NETWORKS
Substation Automation System Substation Automation System

IEC 61850 in Substation Automation HSR

PRP PRP
In future energy systems, renewable, decentralized energy suppliers will play an important role at any voltage
levels. A high degree of automation is required to ensure reliability of supply and efficient operation. In order
to stabilize the grid or to be able to react to fluctuating inputs, considerably more computing power must be
integrated into 400kV substations and localControl
network
Devicestations/transformer stations.
BAY LEVEL
PROCESS LEVEL

CITY
POWER
PLANT
MAXIMUM VOLTAGE
220/400 kV 20 MW

HIGH VOLTAGE INDUSTRY

110 kV

SOLAR POWER PLANT

The basic prerequisites
MEDIUM VOLTAGE for a high degree of automation are a future-proof IT architecture in all parts of the power
6-30 kV
grid and a common “language” for all components of the power grid. This, together with some other advantages,
is achieved by the IEC 61850 standard. Among other things, it defines:
WIND FARM
LOW VOLTAGE
• The communication
230/400 V protocol and cross-manufacturer interoperability
CITY NETWORK
• Ambient conditions such as temperature, electromagnetic compatibility and vibration
• Simplified, future-proof cabling of components in transformer stations CAT-WP-IEC61850-Substation-Automation-V1.0 EN ed. 11/2020 Welotec GmbH

Development timeline of transformer station equipment

• Extension of IEC 61580 to

• Copper cables for direct include a process bus
connections between protection • Development of comprehensive • Introduction of IEC 68150
and control devices control systems in substations Edition 2.1
1960s & 1970s 2005 2020

1980s 2011
• Major step towards automation • Introduction of IEC 61850 Edition 2
• First step towards digitization • Introduction of the real-time redundancy
technology HSR/PRP

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AUTOMATION AND DIGITIZATION IN SUBSTATIONS AND UTILITY NETWORKS

IEC 61850 in Substation Automation

IEC 61850 Substation Architectur

A switchgear consists of different intelligent electronic units (IED) for switches, transformers or measuring equip-
ment. All these devices must be able to communicate with each other. Each one can trigger time-critical actions,
such as disconnecting a load connection. The IEC 61850 standard series divides these switchgear systems into
three levels and describes the communication protocol between the functions of the switchgear system:

CAT-WP-IEC61850-Substation-Automation-V1.0 EN ed. 11/2020 Welotec GmbH

The Process Level contains devices such as circuit breakers or data acquisition devices for current, voltage and
other parameters. This is where the electrical energy is switched.

T he Bay Level consists of the individual IEDs. They process the data supplied by the process level and make local
control decisions. They also transmit data for further processing and monitoring to the higher-level control and
data acquisition system, the SCADA system.

T he Station Level contains the SCADA system as well as operating and monitoring devices (HMIs) for monitoring
the operation of a substation. In addition, the connection to the network control system of the network operator
takes place from here via various WAN technologies.

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AUTOMATION AND DIGITIZATION IN SUBSTATIONS AND UTILITY NETWORKS

IEC 61850 in Substation Automation

Communication protocols between the individual levels

The individual elements on the different levels of a substation have different communication requirements. At
the lower levels, at the process level, low latency times are important for the greatest possible autonomy of
operations. This requirement does not exist in the communication between bay and station level or exists in an
attenuated form. Therefore, the IEC 61850 standard defines three forms of communication:

MMS-Protocol (Manufacturing Messaging Specifica-

tion): Communication between SCADA and IEDs

 oose (Generic Object Oriented Substation Events):

G
Horizontal, direct communication between the indivi-
dual IEDs

SMV (Sampled Measured Values): Vertical communi-

cation between the individual IEDs

Advantages of the IEC 61850 standard - Why should you invest in an IEC 61850 substation?

Simplified architecture:
The individual components of a substation no longer have to be wired using individual copper cables, but are
connected to each other via an Ethernet network instead.

Future-proof design:
By using an Ethernet-based network, existing systems can easily be adapted to future requirements.

High reliability:
By defining environmental conditions in IEC 61850-3, the devices can be optimized and tested for the harsh
environmental conditions in substations. The use of redundancy technologies such as HSR/PRP results in higher
availability and thus greater network reliability.

Manufacturer independence:
CAT-WP-IEC61850-Substation-Automation-V1.0 EN ed. 11/2020 Welotec GmbH

The common series of standards ensures interoperability between components from different manufacturers.

Digital twin of a substation:

By using the IEC 61850 standard, it is possible to test stations already during the planning phase using the data
model. This simplifies the planning and commissioning of such a network node.

Direct communication between IEDs:

The Goose and SMV protocols allow IEDs to exchange information directly with each other without burdening a
central unit like a SCADA system.

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AUTOMATION AND DIGITIZATION IN SUBSTATIONS AND UTILITY NETWORKS

IEC 61850 in Substation Automation

Control computers in substations - applications and virtualization

Control systems are usually located at the upper station level and perform a large number of functions there.
First of all, the local SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system runs here, which orchestrates and
monitors the processes in the substation. In addition, different software can be used for power quality analysis
(PQ analysis) or other logging functions.

In order to avoid that malfunctions of one element are

transferred to the other components, the individual
software elements must be isolated from each other.
Physical isolation, i.e. the installation of the individual
software components on their own computers, is the
most maintenance-intensive and costly variant. The
more cost efficient solution is therefore to separate
the applications via virtualization on a computer with
sufficient computing power and to set up this compu-
ter redundantly via HSR/PRP networks.

IEC 61850-3 for control technology in substations

Part 3 (IEC 61850-3) of the IEC 61850 series of standards contains detailed descriptions of the environmental
conditions and the associated hardware requirements in substations. Compliance with the IEC 61850-3 standard
is therefore mandatory for any form of hardware in substations in order to ensure safe operation of the compo-
nents. The core elements of the defined environmental conditions are:

Protection against electromagnetic interference:

CAT-WP-IEC61850-Substation-Automation-V1.0 EN ed. 11/2020 Welotec GmbH

Unprotected devices can quickly be damaged or destroyed.

Protection against strong temperature fluctuations:

In a substation, it can be as cold as -40°C in winter. Temperatures of up to +75°C may occur in summer. Especially
Computers without active cooling must therefore be designed with particular consideration for thermal budget.

Protection against vibrations:

The hardware must be able to withstand earthquakes or other vibrations in the environment.

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AUTOMATION AND DIGITIZATION IN SUBSTATIONS AND UTILITY NETWORKS

IEC 61850 in Substation Automation

IEC 61850-3 - Communications Networks and Systems in Substations;

Part 3: General Requirements

IEC TS 61000-4-x Series (Basic Immunity Standards)

61000-4-2 ESD
61000-4-3 Radiated RFI
61000-4-4 Electrical Brust Fast Transients
61000-4-5 Surge
61000-4-6 Conducted RFI
61000-4-8 Power Frequency Magnetic Field
61000-4-11 Voltage Dips, AC Power Supplies
61000-4-12 Damped Oscillatory Transients
61000-4-16 Mains Frequency Voltage
61000-4-17 Ripple on DC Power Supplies
61000-4-29 Voltage Dips, DC Power Supplies

IEC TS 61000-6-5
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Part 6-5 Generic Standards; Immunity for Power Station and
Substation Environments

IEC 870-2-2
Telecontrol Equipment and Systems Part 2 Operating Conditions; Section 2: Environmental
Conditions

Classes
Class A Air-conditioned locations (indoors)
Class B Heated and/or cooled enclosed conditions
Class C Sheltered locations
Class D Outdoor locations
CAT-WP-IEC61850-Substation-Automation-V1.0 EN ed. 11/2020 Welotec GmbH

Class C
Class C1 -5 to +45°C
Class C2 -25 to +55°C
Class C3 -40 to +70°C
Class Cx Special

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AUTOMATION AND DIGITIZATION IN SUBSTATIONS AND UTILITY NETWORKS

IEC 61850 in Substation Automation

Ready for the intelligent utility networks of the future

The Welotec portfolio includes various configurations of a high-performance computer for virtualised applica-
tions at the station level, but also small, budget aware lower performance computers for use as HMIs or data
loggers. We also offer accessory components such as HSR/PRP plug-in cards or data loggers for IEC 61850 com-
munication.

The RSAPC (Rugged Substation Automation Computer) meets all environmental requirements of the IEC 61850-
3 standard. Due to its high computing power, it is ideally suited as the central control computer of a substation.
The individual applications described above can be virtualized using Hyper-V, for example. In addition, the com-
puter can be equipped with up to 4 HSR/PRP cards to be integrated into a redundant network environment. With
its numerous interfaces and accessories, almost any application can be implemented in a substation.

The RSAEC (Rugged Substation Automation Edge Con-

troller) also meets the requirements of IEC 61850-3. It
can be used, for example, as an HMI, protocol conver-
ter or data logger at any location.

Operating Systems for Substation Computers - Standard versus Real-Time

In addition to classic Windows operating systems, Linux distributions or versions of the VxWorks real-time ope-
CAT-WP-IEC61850-Substation-Automation-V1.0 EN ed. 11/2020 Welotec GmbH

rating system can also be used to control a transformer station. The main advantage of a Real Time operating is a
deterministic processing and execution time.

IEC 60870 vs. IEC 61850: Distinctions from IEC 60870-5-104/101 Protocol

Currently, communication between the network control system and the station is mostly based on the IEC 60870-
5-104 standard. Even though the original purpose was different, the 104 standard now serves identical levels of
data exchange. The main difference between the two standards is the underlying data model. The 104 protocol is
also used in stations according to the IEC 61850 standard as a north-facing interface for network management. A
further application case for the central computer in a substation is therefore the protocol conversion between the
north-facing 104 protocol and the station interior constructed according to IEC 61850.

Welotec GmbH Zum Hagenbach 7 info@welotec.com

www.welotec.com D-48366 Laer +49 2554 9130 00