Using a Real-Time Digital Simulator to Affect the Quality of IEC-61850 GOOSE and Sampled Value Data

Testing IEC-61850 devices is a critical part of any substation automation scheme. Many IEDs have been installed and configured to provide status and control via GOOSE messages; IEDs can also be configured to listen to sampled value data. An important part of the data is the quality of information and should be tested with any IED to understand the behavior of the substation automation scheme when the quality of information is degraded. Reports or logs can be triggered when the quality of information changes. IEC-61850-7-3 defines the Quality common data attribute, and specifies a combination of PACKED LISTs, CODED ENUMs, and BOOLEAN values. The encoding of this quality information by a server is defined in IEC-61850-8-1 and this presentation describes how to manipulate the quality information bits in a GOOSE message or sampled value data coming from a Real Time Digital Simulator. Testing protective relays in a closed loop system is widely regarded as the next best thing to actual staged system faults. The speaker has presented the hardware implementation and key design criteria for creating an IEC-61850 interface with a RTDS at a previous conference, at APAP 2007. Enhancement of this IEC-61850 interface was the next step and provides access to the quality information bits in a GOOSE message or sampled value data coming from a Real Time Digital Simulator. The user has the ability to dynamically set any of the quality bits for any IEC-61850 data being transmitted by the RTDS. The user will also have control over the needs commissioning bit and the test mode bit for the GOOSE message. The RTDS can also be configured to make the received quality information from external IEDs visible in the simulation.