British Columbia Institute of Technology

ELEX 7790

Capstone Design Project Initiation

Project Proposal

Adam Wells Aaron Fernandes Jeff Kim

Substation Automation Protection Systems

May 22, 2019

Abstract

High-power electrical systems, including utilities such as BC Hydro, rely on protection sys-
tems to protect millions of dollars’ worth of equipment from electrical faults. To help students
learn about these systems, we developed a system to simulate actual faults within a three-
phase system. This project was developed for our final Capstone project within the B.Eng.
(Electrical Engineering) program.

Because protection systems are such a vital part of power systems, engineers and
technologists are in demand in this field. It can often be difficult to test how a three-phase
system will respond to faults without resorting to expensive testing equipment or risking
damage by performing real world tests. Simulation software can provide insight into the
effect of these faults, but students often learn better through real world applications. This
report focuses on how our project implements a system to better understand how various
faults effect three-phase power systems, primarily for educational purposes. By creating a
simple, cost-effective, and safe fault box, we can perform these tests without the downsides
mentioned above.

We also explored the operation of new IEC 61850 compatible relays, which allow for better
inter-relay communication, providing improved protection of power systems. By
implementing these relays within our three-phase system, we demonstrated how effectively
these relays responded to the faults which we created within our system. Included within
this report are the background and motivation of the project, the scope of work, project
implementation and results, as well as our conclusions and recommendations for future
work.

1
Contents

Executive Summary 5

1 Introduction 8

2 Background and Motivation 9

2.1 End-Users and Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Application and Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3 State of the Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3.1 Electromechanical Relays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3.2 Digital Relays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4 Key Literature Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3 Scope of Work 16
3.1 Recommended Long-Term Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 Capstone Project Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Project Execution and Deliverables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 Collaboration and External Input to Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 Project Implementation and Results 20

4.1 High-Level Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.1.1 Fault Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.1.2 Siemens Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.2 Design and Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.3 Results, Testing, and Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

5 Conclusion and Recommendations 27

2
References 29

Appendix A: Bill of Materials 31

3
List of Figures

1 Interior of Fault Simulation Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

2 Single Line Diagram of Multi Load Power System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3 PSCAD Simulation of 3-line fault on a Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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Executive Summary

Substation automation is an exciting new development in the field of protection systems. It

involves smart communication between relays under the new IEC 61850 standard to enable
enhanced protection schemes. Our project uses these relays for protection of a three-phase
power system, as well providing a method for testing the protection of the system through
fault simulation. The system has been implemented into BCIT’s power lab as an educational
tool for comparing software simulations to real world results. This report details how we
implemented this design for our capstone project.

Current relays come with a whole slew of issues which could potentially be solved using the
IEC 61850 standard. The main benefit of using this standard is the simplicity of
communication between different relays, which can provide increased redundancy in case of
failures. We explored the real-world differences between the current state of the art and
our design. Our project required the creation of a unique system to simulate a three-phase
fault without damaging expensive power equipment. After testing the effectiveness of our
system, we provided BCIT students with the tools to test our system themselves, in the
format of a lab involving the programming of Siemens relays. The entire design process
emphasized providing useful information using our equipment, allowing for comparison
between fault tests using our design and theory learned in power classes.

The design of our system prioritized safety and ease of use due to its future use in labs with
students. This means we anticipated a larger degree of user error when compared with
more experienced users. Safety measures have been put in place to ensure that in cases of

5
operator error, risk of harm to operators and equipment is minimized. Additionally, the
labs we created and the GUI of our fault simulation device both contain instructions and
warnings to provide students with a good understanding the risks involved with working
with high power systems, especially in situations where there is an electrical fault.

Several different aspects of the project have been analyzed within this report. The
background and motivation section details the current state-of-the-art of the protection
field, and how using IEC 61850 compatible relays facilitates easier communication between
relays, improving the overall effectiveness of the protection. The scope of work entails the
overarching objectives of our project, including long-term and shorter-term objectives. In
essence, the goal of our Capstone project was to create a single prototype of our system for
creating faults and protecting against them in the lab. The longer term objective would be
to expand on our project, creating a full set of fault boxes to be used in lab sessions.
Improvements could also be made to the durability of the design, and further labs could be
developed based on the one we created.

The project implementation and results section provides specific details on how we
implemented our design to meet these objectives, and the results we produced from our
final design. Results have been gathered from measurements taken within our three-phase
system design. The results have been confirmed by creating simulations of the system and
gathering the corresponding measurements. In this way, we are able to match theory to
real world results, which future students should also be able to do using our design.

6
Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the instructors who provided guidance over the course of our work
on the completion of our Capstone project. Special thanks go to Dr. Ali Palizban for being
our project mentor, providing us with the suggestion of creating a project utilizing smart
grid technology, as well as continued guidance over the course of the project. We also want
to acknowledge the support provided by Jeff Bloemink in meeting the general requirements
of the Capstone course as well as information on the operation of the Siemens 7UT85 Relays.
We are also grateful to Kathy Manson for providing guidance on the operation of the Siemens
equipment required for the implementation of our project. Finally, we would like to thank
the Power Diploma students who provided us with labs, videos, and general guidance in the
usage of the Siemens Relays. We would also like to thank BCIT and Siemens for providing
us the equipment, support, and facilities required for the implementation of our Capstone
project.

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1 Introduction

This report describes our final Capstone project, focused on the field of Substation Au-
tomation Protection Systems. Substation automation uses IEC 61850 compatible protection
relays to provide enhanced protection through inter-relay communication. Our project con-
sists of a three-phase system protected by these relays, and a fault simulation device which
will test the effectiveness of the system. By implementing this system within BCIT’s power
lab, we provided a valuable educational tool for students interested in entering the field of
protection systems. Information contained within this report provides details on the design
and implementation of our final Capstone project required as part of BCIT’s curriculum.
The technical information that is included within this report is generally understandable by
readers with a basic background on engineering concepts.

Included within this report are the background and motivation of the project (end-users
and stakeholders, application and need, state of the art, key literature identified), the scope
of work (long-term and Capstone objectives, project execution and deliverables), project
implementation and results (high level description, design and implementation, results,
testing and verification), as well as our conclusions and recommendations.

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2 Background and Motivation

The objectives of our project were to simulate various faults within a three-phase power
system and using advanced protection schemes to protect against these simulated faults.
These advanced protection schemes were implemented utilizing the IEC 61850 standard to
facilitate communication between protection relays. The primary use of our project is in
power labs at BCIT. The fault simulation device allows for testing of power systems under
faults without risk of damage to equipment.

2.1 End-Users and Stakeholders

The success of our project was dependent on the co-operation and support from several dif-
ferent sources. Ali Palizban, our mentor, provided a great deal of guidance on the direction
and requirements of the project. Weekly meetings with Ali provided the group with sub-
stantial information, which was necessary for the design process, including design reviews
to meet safety standards and project specifications. Additional direction from BCIT faculty
included assistance from Kathy Manson as well as Jeff Bloemink, who both also have a great
deal of knowledge in the systems utilized in our design.

The primary stakeholders of this project are BCIT and Siemens. The final design has been
implemented into a power lab within BCIT, meaning that the institution has significant
interest in the success of the project. Although Siemens is not an official sponsor of the
project, their Siemens SIPROTEC 7UT85 Digital Relays are the cornerstone for our final
design. Product specialists from Siemens have provided a thorough demonstration of the
capabilities of the protection relays, including an introduction to using IEC 61850 to allow
for inter-relay communication. Since our project has been implemented within a BCIT

9
power lab, the primary end users are the students and instructors who use the lab.
Instructors will be able to carry out labs using our equipment and designs, allowing their
students to gain a greater knowledge of faults within three-phase systems, as well as
advanced protection schemes using inter-relay communication.

Our team consists of three members, Aaron Fernandes, Adam Wells, and Jeff Kim. Each
member was responsible for different aspects of the design, although major design choices
have been run by each member. Aaron was responsible for the overall fault simulation
device design, including the selection of components, layout of the box, and enclosure
design. Adam oversaw programming the microcontroller within the system to generate the
different types of faults based on user input. Jeff led the design of the three-phase powers
system, including selecting the major components such as motors and loads. Aspects of the
project not mentioned here (Documentation, Relay programming) have been shared with
equal responsibility between all three members.

2.2 Application and Need

Normally, power system protection schemes are primarily designed using simulation soft-
ware. All power system components need protection, including transformers, generators,
motors, and other loads. Traditionally, when designing power systems, testing of the de-
sign is primarily done through software such as PowerWorld, PSCAD, and MATLAB. High
power systems are inherently dangerous to work with, limiting the number of tests which
can be conducted on real world equipment. The risks are greatly increased when students
are involved, due to their limited experience and background knowledge. However, fault
analysis is an essential part of power system design, and knowledge of protecting against

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these faults are essential for these students. By introducing a system that can simulate these
faults without the risks involved with creating actual faults, we allow students to gain useful
hands-on experience.

The power system which the fault simulation device will be used on is specifically designed
with creating faults in mind. It will be implemented within the BCIT lab, using preexisting
equipment to create the connections between our designed components, and the
three-phase system itself.

Currently, the group that we are targeting at as the end users of our project are students
studying electrical power systems at BCIT. This includes students within the Electrical
Engineering bachelor’s degree program as well as the Electrical Power and Industrial
Control diploma program. Within the graduating years of 2014-2016, there were 98
graduates within the Power diploma program, averaging nearly 33 students per year. [1] In
the Electrical engineering program, there were 43 students who graduated between the
years of 2013-2015, an average of 14 students per year [2]. Currently, there are 34 students
in BCIT’s 2019 graduating class for Electrical Engineering. With the conservative estimate
of 57 students per year as our prospective end-users and considering that enrollment in
these programs is steadily increasing, there is a substantial pool of prospective end users.

Data taken from the IEEE Buff book provides information on how transformer failure
affects a variety of people. Transformers that had rating between 300kVA and 10,000kVA
incurred a failure rate of 59 per 10,000 transformers [3]. Although this does not seem like

11
much, one must realize the amount of time and money losses incurred when one
transformer fails [4].

12
2.3 State of the Art

Protective relays are used to protect important, and often expensive equipment. They tem-
porarily take equipment out of service when the power system experiences a fault at any
location. Accompanying the relay are circuit breakers which disconnect the portion of the
system that may be harmed during a short-circuit. More specifically, the circuit breaker is
generally located on generators, transformers, buses, and transmission lines. Currently, both
electromechanical and digital relays can be found in power systems.

2.3.1 Electromechanical Relays

Electromechanical relays are a tried and true method of protecting power systems. There
are a variety of different types, but the most prevalent is the induction disc relay. They
operate on principles of magnetism to break a circuit either instantaneously or with a time
delay. If enough current is present, the disc will start to rotate, and based on a pre-defined
time-delay setting, the relay will signal to the circuit breaker to trip [3] [5].
An advantage of this type of relay is its relative simplicity which allows for easy implemen-
tation into a power system. However, for advanced protection schemes this type of relay
will not suffice because it cannot communicate with other relays and has limited adjustabil-
ity [3] [5].

2.3.2 Digital Relays

Digital protection relays are a revolutionary step in relay technology. They measure all
analog quantities into digital signals with the use of microprocessors and micro controllers
instead of analog circuits. Some of the disadvantages of current digital relays short lifetime
due to the continuous development of new technologies, as well as increasingly complex

13
wiring in intricate power systems.

Many of the flaws present in current digital relay technology have been limited by the
implementation of the IEC 61850 standard. This standard provides a method of
communication between relays using TCP/IP networking protocols, significantly reducing
the wiring required as compared to conventional digital relays [6]. Moreover, by providing a
standard for all relays to follow, the goal is for relays to continue to operate under set
protocols, increasing their lifetime, as well as providing more interoperability between
relays from different manufacturers [6]. The simplified communication between IEC 61850
compatible relays make them the best fit for our project.

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2.4 Key Literature Identified

The Buff Book [3] illustrates important information about through-fault protection curves
which are used to design the protection scheme for transformers. This was useful when
we were initially testing our transformers to put in our system. It points out some of the
problems that transformers may have when faults do occur.

The Violet Book [4] holds a great introduction to different types of faults and how each one
would affect the accompanying power system. We were able to find out exactly what each
fault does to a power system and how we could prevent them from happening in our
system. Based on this, we were able to find the right components to suit our needs and
program the Raspberry Pi 3 to make sure the fault we applied to our system was enough to
trip safely but not harm our entire system.

The Red Book [7] provides valuable information on economic factors in the power industry.
The section about economic factors included cost estimations for industrial power systems.
This helped us utilize our funding more efficiently in order to pick the parts to put in our
fault box. This book also has important information on short-circuit current calculations
which was quite useful in calculating how long it should take our relay to trip based off
reading the overcurrent selectivity chart.

The IEC 61850 literature [8] explains the different standards associated with IEC 61850.
Our focus was on GOOSE-messaging, which is small section of the IEC 61850 standard,
but it helped us understand the layout of the whole to get the overall picture of things. It
also gave us the fundamentals at the start when working on programming the two relays to
talk to each other.

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3 Scope of Work

Section 3.1 below focuses on long-term objectives that could not be accomplished during
our capstone project. These are suggestions and guideline for future students to take-on to
further develop our project.

3.1 Recommended Long-Term Objectives

Objective: Create a fault simulation device to be utilized within labs, while utilizing the
Siemens relays to protect against faults created by the device within a three-phase system.
While the Capstone project includes only a single proof-of-concept design, it can be expanded
and improved upon to increase effectiveness, usability and safety.

Objectives below are suggestions for future students continuing with this project:

1. Use point-on-wave switching to create faults with different transient characteristics.

2. Create protection lab(s) utilizing different protection schemes which have not yet been
implemented.

3. Create HMI interface for the fault box allowing the user to select faults within the box
itself and without requiring external peripherals (mice, keyboards and monitors).

4. Build multiple fault simulation devices based on our prototype to be used in the lab.
For use in the lab, a greater emphasis should be placed on the durability of the com-
ponents for extended use.

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3.2 Capstone Project Objectives

Below are the objectives which we intend to complete by the end of the academic year:

1. Designed and implemented a redundant power system protection scheme using com-
munication between multiple relays.

2. Designed a power system that implements different faults with a fault simulation device
and relays. This system could include multiple loads, including resistive loads and
motors.

3. Created a lab for students to go through, which will work in conjunction with the fault
simulation device and power system design to test the protection of the system.

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3.3 Project Execution and Deliverables

Below are the aspects of our Capstone project which we have delivered based on the objectives
and requirements set out at the beginning of the project:

1. Created a final proposal report during the planning phase.

2. Created a final report with detailed results after the testing phase.

3. Designed a poster for the project expo based on our project.

4. Produced the necessary design and documentation required to build our full substation
protection system.

5. Built a fault simulation device that is user-friendly and can produce different faults
into the system. It includes safety features to ensure it can safely be used by students.

6. Designed a power system that can handle all faults without damaging any of the
equipment within the system.

7. Designed a redundant protection scheme that can communicate with other relays ef-
fectively and efficiently. This included a fast response time.

8. Created a lab for future students to use conjunction with our completed protection
system.

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3.4 Collaboration and External Input to Project

Throughout the design and implementation of our project, we collaborated with and con-
sidered input from several external parties. We received a report from business students
regarding the business structure, supply chain management, competition, marketing strate-
gies and future expansion. Based on this report, we were able to understand how we could
potentially bring our product into a market, and how we can track our budget better in
terms of buying parts to build our project.

We also received external consultation from experts in both requirements as well as

electrical and mechanical design. The requirement expert provided input on how we should
design the labs, as well as providing functional, performance, and safety requirements. The
experts emphasized that safety is the most important factor, taking precedence over
function and performance. Based on this, we built our prototype using enough margin of
error within the power system to make sure no equipment was harmed, and people could
use the system safely without risking injury. The electrical and mechanical design expert
provided suggestions on the amount of space required for the components, the required
cooling strategies, as well as material choices.

There were also suggestions made during our project expo for improving our project.
Suggestions included further analysis on the speed of communication between the relays,
which is important for effective protection of the system. Although we did not get a chance
to do the analysis based on this suggestion, it will be mentioned for future development to
improve the overall protection system.

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4 Project Implementation and Results

The main objective of our Capstone Project was to use the IEC 61850 protocol in addition
to the 7UT85 Siemens Relays. In order for us to utilize a sufficient amount of functions that
the relay holds, we decided to create a fault box which could apply various faults into our
three-phase power system that provided power to a motor and resistor bank. The function
from the protocol was to use GOOSE messaging on the relays that provides selectivity in
circuit breaking during a fault should one breaker fail to open.

4.1 High-Level Description

This section describes each sub-section that was completed in order to complete the final
implementation of our protection system using GOOSE and IEC 61850.

4.1.1 Fault Box

We teamed up with BCIT instructors to help teach and tangibly learn about faults on three-
phase power systems for future students. Figure 1 below shows our method of introducing
faults into a power system. Essentially, we used three 47Ω resistors in combination with
three solid state relays. The user can apply their choice between five faults through a GUI
created on the Raspberry Pi.

20
 Figure 1: Interior of Fault Simulation Device

4.1.2 Siemens Relay

In combination with the 7UT85 Siemens Relay’s, we used DIGSI5 software to program a
redundancy system. The relays used Inverse Time Over Current relay trip settings. Our
system includes two scenarios:

1. In reference to Figure 2 below, 252K circuit breaker would ”fail” to open as the as-
sociated relay sees an over current fault. Using GOOSE messaging, the relay would
communicate with the upstream relay to open 252L circuit breaker.

2. A fault would be applied to the load bank and 252K circuit breaker would open,
allowing the motor on the same bus to continue operating.

21
 Figure 2: Single Line Diagram of Multi Load Power System

4.2 Design and Implementation

This section describes a detailed description of the various aspects of our design. This
includes fault simulation device, overall three-phase power system, and IEC 61850 relay
protection.

1. Fault Simulation Device

The fault simulation device allows for the creation of low impedance faults between
various phases and the neutral of a three-phase system. The design allows for connec-
tion of the box in parallel with the desired section of the three-phase system using four
external connections. There are three different control relays within the design, which

22
can be closed in various combinations controlled by a Raspberry Pi 3 which is pro-
grammed in Python to create five different fault types within the system: Line-Line,
Line-Ground, Line-Line-Ground, 3 phase-Ground, and 3 phases. The fault simulation
device is designed with some protective measures to ensure safe operation. Between
each phase there is a resistor which helps limit the amount of current that goes through
the simulated faults. They are sized to keep current below a desired level and to handle
high-power dissipation requirements. The faults should only be activated for enough
time for protection relays to activate and measure the transients present after fault has
been cleared.

Figure 1 shows the interior of the fault simulation device. The Raspberry Pi 3 controls
the switching of various faults within the system through its digital output ports.
The digital outputs are connected to the control relays to create different faults. For
example, a fault between phase A and phase B would be created by activating control
relay 1 which creates a connection between the two phases across the resistor Ra. (Will
add diagram)

Here are things that were implemented in order to meet the fault simulation device:

• The box was created and can safely create the five desired fault types.

• Box has been sized to provide adequate ventilation for short fault times.

• Pi has been programmed to be able to select between desired fault types.

Challenges: old resistors and relays didn’t quite meet our new specifications and we
resolved this by getting new resistors and relays that suited our modified design.

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2. Three Phase Power System
Within the three-phase power system there are motor and a resistor load bank as
the loads and pair of relays which protect different parts of the system with network
connection between them to facilitate IEC 61850 standard communication. Voltage
will be supplied from three-phase supply from relay lab to the system where the main
circuit breaker lies, and this will be fed into two lower branches. First branch to where
resistive load bank and another circuit breaker lies and other one to a motor. Having
multiple different types of equipment included in the system allows us to implement a
variety of protection techniques.

Figure 2 above shows the overall three-phase power system of our design. Within the
system there are two circuit breakers, with a motor and a resistor bank as the loads.
There is a pair of relays which protect different parts of the system, with network
connections between them to facilitate IEC 61850 standard communication.

Here are things that were implemented in order to meet the relay protection design:

• Each component in the power system needs to be designed for the system to
handle rated current and voltage as defined in fault simulation device section.

• If a motor is connected, then appropriate safety should be implemented to ensure

that back feed from motor does not damage our system.

• Simulated within PSCAD to ensure safe current and voltage measurements.

3. IEC 81850 Relay Protection

The protection relays will be able to communicate with each other to allow for some
redundancy in case one of the relays fails to trip. Relays will need to be set with

24
 consideration of the motor.

Here are things that were implemented in order to meet the relay protection design:

• Accomplish communication between two relays after studying the labs provided
by diploma students.

• Implement differential relay protection using the digital relays.

• Apply a fault and test our differential protection scheme.

Challenges: Some of the relay lab instructions were not very clear and misleading and we
resolved this problem by resourcing help to diploma students who finished these labs and
reached out to Kathy and Ali to get clarification.

Table 1 below is a list of all the items we purchased to finish designing our project.
Majority of our cost went into building our fault simulation device. Relays and other items
involved in the project were provided by our mentor, Ali such as motor, load bank and
variac.

Item Quantity Cost

Solid State Relay 3 $21
High Power Resistor 3 $78.38
Chassis Rackmount 1 $185.24
Chassis Cover 1 $51.93
Raspberry Pi 3 1 $67

Table 1: Parts List

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4.3 Results, Testing, and Verification

We connected our fault box to a simple circuit using the Siemens panels located in the
lab. We applied 120V/208V through the panel and into a WYE configured load bank of
90ohms/phase. In parallel with the load bank we attached our fault box. We had the
Siemens relay and CT’s hooked up to the circuit to monitor the line current during five
different faults. Table 2 below are our predicted line currents using PSCAD against actual
line currents.

Predicted(A) Measured(A)
IA IB IC IN IA IB IC IN
No Fault 1.31 1.25 1.39 0 1.31 1.31 1.25 0.093
Line-N 1.31 1.25 3.99 2.62 1.31 1.33 3.665 2.33
Line-Line 1.31 5.31 5.3 0 5.39 8.52 7.62 2.39
3-Line 5.02 7.93 5.45 0 5.39 8.5 7.58 2.37
2-Line-N 1.31 5.26 7.81 1.31 2.54 5.39 7.63 2.39
3-Line-N 5.02 7.9 7.8 2.54 5.42 8.54 7.61 2.38

Table 2: Estimations Obtained from Step Test: Opening Valve

After testing our fault box in a simple circuit with a load bank configured in WYE and
Delta, we used PSCAD to simulate how faults would effect line currents with a motor
circuit as seen in Figure 3 below.

26
 Figure 3: PSCAD Simulation of 3-line fault on a Motor

5 Conclusion and Recommendations

The primary goal of this Capstone project was to create an educational tool to simulate the
effect of faults within an actual three-phase system, and to design protection against these
faults. To achieve this, we created a proof-of-concept design, consisting of three main aspects.
A three-phase power system with multiple transformers and loads, a fault simulation device
to create faults anywhere within the system, and an advanced relay protection scheme to
protect the three-phase system from the simulated faults. These three components have
been designed to work together as part of an overall system.

Several deliverables have been achieved to indicate successful completion of our project. To
test the effectiveness of our protection, we built a system to simulate a variety of different
faults, without causing harm to equipment and operators. Multiple different measures have
been outlined to ensure that the system will be safe to use, even under operator error. We
also used communication between multiple relays to implement a redundant overcurrent
protection system. The relay communication will provide redundancy in case either one of

27
the relays fails to trip, which we have simulated within software. After testing that our
system works, we designed a lab using the relay software, providing BCIT students with
the tools to test our system themselves in a structured and informative format.

While the design we created is sufficient on its own as a stand-alone system, further
improvements could be made to its current state. The DIGSI 5 software includes several
different types of protection schemes which could be implemented to protect against
different types of faults. Differential relay protection was a scheme which we wanted to
implement, but issues with setting up the firmware, as well as creating faults that would be
able to simulate transformer faults were both issues we ran into. As well, we discussed
being able to trigger faults using point-on-wave switching. This would have allowed us to
have a better understanding of the transients involved in three-phase system faults which
have inductive or capacitive loads. This would require reading the currents of the system
quite accurately and relaying that information to our fault box quickly enough that the
faults would be accurately timed. The fault simulation device could also be improved with
a touchscreen HMI, which would allow it to work as a more standalone device, not
requiring any external peripherals. Our fault box is simply a one-off prototype, and
improvements could be made to its durability for use in future labs.

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References

[1] BCIT Institutional Research (IR) Office, “BCIT Student Outcomes Reports for Certifi-
cate and Diploma Graduates 2018 Edition A Detailed Summary of BCIT Graduates ’
Activities One Year After Graduation,” Tech. Rep. March, 2018.

[2] BCIT Institutional Research (IR) Office, “BCIT Student Outcomes Reports for Degree
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[3] IEEE, IEEE Recommended Practice for Protection and Coordination of Industrial and
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[4] IEEE, IEEE Recommended Practice for Calculating Short-Circuit Currents in Industrial
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[5] L. N. Crichton and H. C. Graves, “The Application of Relays for the Protection of Power
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[6] R. Mackiewicz and S. Heights, “Technical Overview and Benefits of the IEC 61850 Stan-
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[7] IEEE, IEEE Recommended Practice for Electric Power Distribution for Industrial Plants
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29
[8] K. P. Brand, C. Brunner, and W. Wimmer, “DESIGN OF IEC 61850 BASED SUB-
STATION AUTOMATION SYSTEMS ACCORDING TO CUSTOMER REQUIRE-
MENTS,” tech. rep.

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Appendix A: Bill of Materials

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