With the development of China's power industry and the application of new technologies, smart substations—as a critical component of smart grids—have become the developmental trend for future substations. This simultaneously creates new demands for next-generation relay protection devices and IED (Intelligent Electronic Device) testing.

The rapid expansion of power systems, coupled with utilities’ implementation of downsizing-for-efficiency strategies, has significantly increased the equipment maintenance burden per technician. Concurrently, the continuous deployment of protection and automation devices based on novel principles and technologies imposes increasingly stringent technical requirements on relay protection testing personnel.

To ensure the reliable and safe operation of the power grid and prevent the frequent human errors in relay protection work, KeLiang has summarized years of engineering experience in relay protection testing and developed a testing system for relay protection devices and substation systems. This system holds significant practical importance in enhancing the level of relay protection testing, preventing incorrect actions of relay protection and safety automatic devices, and ensuring the safe operation of the power grid.

Run the model program in real-time on the simulation host, and directly feed the analog quantities (such as voltage and current) required for testing the protection device under test into the device via a power amplifier or digital signal. Simultaneously, the response signals from the device under test are fed back to the computation unit in real-time through an I/O unit for closed-loop testing. The simulation host also monitors the testing process, including fault control, waveform recording, and automated testing. HYPERSIM enables interactive connectivity between the simulator, external devices, and substation control systems under the IEC 61850 protocol, providing an advanced simulation test platform for performance testing of secondary equipment in smart substations. This platform supports comprehensive tests of station-wide communication systems, network performance, clock synchronization systems, and more.

■ Capable of automatic testing for both individual protection test items and entire substation system protection;

■ Supports transmission and reception of multiple message types with powerful computational analysis capabilities, provides 2 pairs of fiber-optic Ethernet ports, enables testing of IEC 61850-9-1, IEC 61850-9-2, and GOOSE optical digital message outputs. GOOSE signals can be transmitted/received independently or share one optical Ethernet port with IEC 61850-9-2;

■ Adapts to diverse power user requirements, delivers test solutions for various IEC 61850 relay protection devices and IEDs. Supports ICD, CID, and SCD file import/export for sampled values (SV) and GOOSE transmission/reception, and enables network configuration—significantly simplifying manual test setup, improving testing efficiency, and reducing downtime;

■ Dedicated automated test templates standardize testing procedures, generate standardized test reports automatically, normalize operational steps, and reduce technical skill requirements for personnel;

■ Standardized, open test models and interfaces compatible with traditional analog switching processing, featuring 128-channel analog switching I/O and 256-channel digital I/O;

■ Supports cascaded testing across multiple units.

Automated testing based on test models significantly simplifies on-site workflows and enhances efficiency, completing test tasks in just a few straightforward steps:

■ Open a standard test model or a self-built grid test model, adjust model parameters, and import the configuration file of the test device into the model;

■ Connect the I/O interfaces and network interfaces between the simulator and the device under test;

■ Verify protection settings;

■ Initiate the test program to automatically execute protection tests;

■ The test software supports multiple analysis views—including characteristic curves, oscillograms, fault recordings, phasor diagrams, and variable trend curves—automatically analyzing test data while providing visualized testing progress and information for operators

■ Generate trial reports in customized formats automatically.

■ Factory testing of various relay protection devices;

■ Performance testing, conformance testing, and interoperability testing for smart substation systems;

■ Validating normal operation of fiber-optic digital relay protection devices throughout commissioning and the entire lifecycle of next-generation smart grids, ensuring grid security and reliability.

■ Protective relay testing

■ Full-site system testing for substations

■ Smart transmission grid testing

The illustrated model introduces a single-phase-to-ground fault in an AC network, with the voltage and current at the grounding point output via HYPERSIM IEC61850 SV to the relay protection device, which acquires physical quantities and issues protection commands via IEC61850 GOOSE to the corresponding circuit breaker. The diagram demonstrates ground overcurrent protection, where the entire fault action, response and recovery via the relay protection device takes approximately 15ms; TestView-written test scripts execute the fault 332 times to test the response time of the relay protection device under different grounding phase sequences, obtaining statistical data including maximum, minimum, average values, and derives a distribution curve.