A Cyberphysical Stand for Complex Tests of Intelligent Electronic Devices for Protection and Automation

The reliability and efficiency of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) for protection and automation are important issues, especially for complex and large power systems. Therefore, it is important to perform multivariate testing of these devices under conditions close to real ones before putting them into operation. This is due to the development of distributed generation facilities, power plants based on renewable energy sources, etc., which leads to the complication of circuit-mode situations in the network and IED operating modes. In addition, seminaturalistic testing is necessary when testing the operation of new algorithms for IEDs, as well as in the conditions of using data exchange standards. Various devices for testing relay protection and automation have significant functional limitations, especially for “digital substations” and networks with a complex structure. For a high-quality assessment of the correctness of the IED operation, it is necessary to perform dynamic modeling of possible electrophysical processes and closed-loop testing. The article considers a cyberphysical testbed consisting of four IEDs, a hardware–software complex RTDS, and an RSCAD model of the power-supply system. An analysis of emergency events under various scenarios and the response of the IED for protection to such events is performed.