Microcomputer Prototyping of IEC61850-9-2 with Performance Analysis

The reliability of an electrical system depends on layered Protection, Automation, and Control (PAC) functions in which differential relays are considered a fundamental method to isolate the problem. By having a PAC architecture with functionality independent of hardware we hypothesize that the life cycle of PAC devices can be extended by using modern, powerful, and highly reconfigurable IoT devices. This can be achieved by applying modularity to hardware architecture, where an IoT device can be considered a mezzanine module. The Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone manufacturers are keeping the hardware the same size while constantly increasing its power. However, it is not clear how powerful the IoT device should be to meet some of the IEC 61850 requirements (which are usually included in PAC).In this article, we provide a step-by-step process for designing a system that mimics a single-phase transformer differential protection system. First, we provide a requirements analysis (Sampled Values rate, traffic synchronization, reaction time, etc.). Then we analyze the BeagleBone Black device (BBB). We give an example of an electrical system and finally analyze, in terms of IEC 61850 requirements, the performance of two software applications developed for the BBB (based on the operating system and on bare metal).