Systematic Development and Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of an IEC 61850 Standard-Based Monitoring and Protection System for a Modern Power Grid Point of Common Coupling

Sinawo Nomandela (), Mkhululi E. S. Mnguni and Atanda K. Raji
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Sinawo Nomandela: Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville, P.O. Box 1906, Cape Town 7353, South Africa
Mkhululi E. S. Mnguni: Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville, P.O. Box 1906, Cape Town 7353, South Africa
Atanda K. Raji: Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville, P.O. Box 1906, Cape Town 7353, South Africa

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-47

Abstract: This paper presents a systematic approach to the development and validation of a monitoring and protection system based on the IEC 61850 standard, evaluated through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing. The study utilized an already existing model of a modern power grid consisting of the IEEE 9-bus power system integrated with a large-scale wind power plant (LSWPP). The SEL-487B Relay was configured to protect the PCC using a low-impedance busbar differential monitoring and protection system equipped with adaptive setting group logic that automatically transitions between Group 1 and Group 2 based on system loading conditions. Significant steps were followed for selecting and configuring instrument transformers and implementing relay logic in compliance with IEEE and IEC standards. Real-time digital simulation using Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) hardware and its software, Real-time Simulation Computer-Aided Design (RSCAD), was used to assess the performance of the overall monitoring and protection system, focusing on the monitoring and publishing of the selected electrical and mechanical measurements from a selected wind turbine generator unit (WTGU) on the LSWPP side through the IEC 61850 standard network, and on the behavior of the monitoring and protection system under initial and increased load conditions through monitoring of differential and restraint currents. The overall monitoring and protection system was tested under both initial and increased load conditions, confirming its capability to reliably publish analog values from WTGU13 for availability on the IEC 61850 standard network while maintaining secure protection operation. Quantitatively, the measured differential (operate) and restraint currents were 0.32 PU and 4.38 PU under initial loading, and 1.96 PU and 6.20 PU under increased loading, while total fault clearance times were 606.667 ms and 706.667 ms for faults under initial load and increased load demand conditions, respectively. These results confirm that the developed framework provides accurate real-time monitoring and reliable operation for faults, while demonstrating a practical and replicable solution for monitoring and protection at transmission-level PCCs within renewable-integrated networks.

Keywords: busbar differential protection; IEC 61850 standard; current transformer (CT) saturation; hardware-in-the-loop (HIL); real-time simulation; modern power grids; wind power plant integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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