Generating Reference Actuation Signals of Relay Protection Devices for Automated Functional Tests of Design Solutions

The substation configuration description language described by the IEC 61850-6 standard is used, among other things, to describe the parameterization of relay protection and automatic control devices. Files described in this language may contain tens of thousands of human-readable and machine-readable text lines. These files are a result of designing and contain design solutions for digital relay protection and automatic control systems, and can be updated at the system adjustment and operation stages. An analysis of how correct such configuration files are at all stages of the life cycle is a labor-consuming task for a person. In view of this circumstance, the authors work on developing a system for automated functional testing of digital relay protection and automatic control systems of substations. The aim of the study is to develop a method for generating reference actuation signals of relay protection devices for automated functional tests of design solutions for digital relay protection systems of substations. The article describes a number of requirements put forward for the method developed, which have been elaborated from an analysis and identification of a number of limitations in existing software solutions for automated testing of digital relay protection and automatic control devices. By using the developed method, it is possible to carry out automated functional tests of design solutions for digital relay protection systems regardless of the manufacturer. The applied regulatory and technical documentation dictating the composition and behavior of relay protection devices is taken into account in terms of rules formalized into a human-machine language. The comparison and choice of the rule formalization technology is given, and the process of formalizing the rules based on which the relay protection reference operation signals are generated is described.