James Ariza

The IEC 61850 standard is being applied in various protection schemes around the world. These schemes typically include GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event) messages sent over fiber optic or ethernet cables in a substation ethernet network. These networks are slowly replacing the traditional methods of using a hard wired trip contact to engage protective devices. This provides an advantage in that the protection scheme of the system could be changed in the future at a relatively low… Mostrar más

The IEC 61850 standard is being applied in various protection schemes around the world. These schemes typically include GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event) messages sent over fiber optic or ethernet cables in a substation ethernet network. These networks are slowly replacing the traditional methods of using a hard wired trip contact to engage protective devices. This provides an advantage in that the protection scheme of the system could be changed in the future at a relatively low cost. The end user would be able to change settings in the IED (Intelligent Electronic Device) and add minimal ethernet or fiber optic cables for the expansion instead of instituting a massive rewiring of the trip contacts in the substation.
However, in moving to a protection scheme that involves IEC 61850, there are many pitfalls that can get in the way of a secure and reliable network. One of these is the apparent ambiguity of the term multicast (MAC) address. For many applications the MAC address is concerned with the source, whereas in IEC 61850 terms it is the destination MAC that is important. What happens to a GOOSE message with the wrong MAC address on a network? Another pitfall is in the configuration of the ethernet switches on the network. Priority mismatch between virtual local area networks (VLANs) and GOOSE messages can have a drastic impact on trip times of protective devices. This paper will discuss the challenges in setting up and testing a secure and reliable IEC 61850 substation network. Results from a poorly designed system that includes GOOSE message priority mismatching in VLANs and improper MAC addresses will be shown. These results will be compared with those from the same system that avoided the dangerous pitfalls. Mostrar menos