The reliable operation of protection systems depends on the correct settings of protective devices, which can be extremely numerous and complex within modern protection schemes. It has been realised that, despite multiple instances of checking, and verification and quality control processes, setting errors may remain undetected until an in-service mal-operation event is experienced. Furthermore, while the network evolves, the originally correct settings may be rendered erroneous under certain specific (unanticipated) situations. These issues present a strong need for a solution that allows comprehensive validation of settings and checking of the actual performance of the protection system with the settings applied in a variety of operational contexts. To address these requirements, this thesis presents the outcomes of research concerned with developing and demonstrating an intelligent system-based solution incorporating hybrid Rule-Based (RB) and Model-Based (MB) approaches - the system has been termed the Power system Protection Smart Tool (PPST). It is shown that the combined RB and MB approaches are effective in complementing each other for the settings and performance validation tasks with enhanced reliability and automation. The advantages of the proposed methodology are demonstrated through case studies with actual network and settings data. To maximise the applicability of the developed scheme, the considerable challenges of automating the use of existing settings data stored in a wide range of proprietary formats is also reported. A solution that has been developed which represents settings using IEC 61850 standardised file format and data model is described, along with a proposed methodology that will enable power utilities to migrate from existing approaches to the proposed future approach based on standardised protection settings. Adoption of these recommendations would facilitate a shift from protection systems being largely single-vendor solutions to becoming truly open platforms, capable of supporting the settings validation system as reported in this thesis and any other future applications that require access to and/or manipulation of protection settings. Conclusions and future work concerned with moving the developed system to becoming a "business as usual" application are also included.
Date of Award | 31 Jul 2015 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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Sponsors | University of Strathclyde & National Grid |
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