IEC 61850 Substation Gateway Functional Naming
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing communication standards for Substation Automation systems, such as IEC 61850, make the configuration and management of Network Control Centers highly dependent on the specific Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) within the substation, requiring extensive resources and making it difficult to manage changes or extensions in the system.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced where a gateway IED uses functional names for communication with the Network Control Center, independent of substation IED-related names, allowing for automatic translation and decoupling the NCC server configuration from the substation IED structure, enabling configuration and commissioning before the SA system is designed and allowing for independent reconfiguration during changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct TCP/IP connections are used between NCC and individual IEDs, then communication capability is improved, but device complexity and management burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway IED as an intermediary component between the NCC and multiple substation IEDs. The gateway IED consolidates communication functions, acting as a single point of contact for the NCC while managing connections to numerous IEDs. This mediator approach maintains reliable communication capability while significantly reducing the management burden at the NCC, as the gateway handles device-specific protocols and data aggregation.
2Ease of manufacture
If proxy Logical Devices are instantiated for all substation LNs, then gateway configuration simplicity is improved, but NCC communication link dependency on IED structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the configuration into two independent layers: the gateway IED configuration layer and the NCC communication link layer. By separating these layers, the gateway can use simplified proxy Logical Devices for configuration while the NCC communication link operates independently with its own naming convention. This segmentation allows the gateway to maintain configuration simplicity while the NCC layer achieves independence from specific IED structures through functional naming.
3Stability of the object's composition
If IED-related naming is used for NCC communication, then configuration consistency is improved, but adaptability to system changes decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway IED serves as a mediator that translates between IED-related naming conventions used in substation configuration and functional naming conventions used in NCC communication. This translation capability allows the system to maintain configuration consistency with IED names while the NCC layer uses stable functional names that remain unchanged during system modifications. The gateway handles the adaptation, preserving both consistency and flexibility.
4Reliability
If separate permanent TCP/IP connections are established to each IED, then communication reliability is improved, but resource consumption and management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual TCP/IP connections to separate IEDs into a single consolidated communication link through the gateway IED. Instead of establishing separate permanent connections from the NCC to each IED, the gateway consolidates these connections, maintaining communication reliability by managing all IED connections centrally while reducing the total number of connections required at the NCC from many individual links to a single aggregated link.
Data Source
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Figure 3
AI summary
According to the invention, an IEC 61850 NCC server (21) for serving, via the MMS/TCP/IP part of IEC 61850, process data from substation Intelligent Electronic Devices IEDs (12) to a Network Control Centre NCC (30) is provided at a gateway IED (20) of a Substation Automation SA system. The NCC server uses functional names for gateway Logical Nodes (LN) corresponding to substation LNs. The functional names are devoid of any reference to a substation IED related name of the substation LNs, but can be automatically translated to substation IED related names in case of changing SA communication and substation IED architecture. In other words, functional names as defined by the substation section within a SCD file of the SA system are used for the communication link between the gateway IED and the NCC.