Testing power system protections utilizing hardware-in-the-loop simulations on real-time Linux

The complexity of power system phenomena challenges power system protection testing to obtain the required adequacy of the testing environment. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation in real-time substantially increases testing capabilities. However, there is still the question of the availability of comme...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: M. Krakowski, Ł. Nogal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Polish Academy of Sciences 2020-08-01
Series:Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Technical Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.pan.pl/Content/117251/PDF/15_D1099-1105_01532_Bpast.No.68-5_30.10.20_.pdf
Description
Summary:The complexity of power system phenomena challenges power system protection testing to obtain the required adequacy of the testing environment. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation in real-time substantially increases testing capabilities. However, there is still the question of the availability of commercial solutions. To address the challenges, a new hardware-in-the loop system has been designed and implemented utilizing the easily available Matlab/Simulink environment and Linux RT Preempt OS. The custom software part prepared for the presented system is based on the Matlab/Simulink s-function mechanism, Embedded Coder toolbox and Advantech biodaq library as the interface for the utilized I/O cards. The simulator’s real-time performance limits on Linux RT Preempt have been verified, and it was shown that its performance is sufficient to conduct successful tests of protection relays. Consequently, a simple power system protection relay testing example is provided, including a discussion of results. Finally, it has been proven that the presented system can be utilized as a simpler and more accessible hardware-in-the-loop testing alternative to commercial simulators.
ISSN:2300-1917