IEC 61850-Based Information Model and Configuration Description of Communication Network in Substation Automation

Due to the lack of standard information model and description, the configuration of the communication network is still out of the unified and standard engineering process of substation automation, which may result in incorrect configuration and long engineering time. The IEC 61850-based comprehensive information model of the communication network and its description in substation configuration description language (SCL) files are proposed for standard, correct, and convenient configuration of the communication network. The information model is established by means of information extraction with function decomposition, and mapping of the management information base (MIB). The detailed configuration description is achieved by extending the existing SCL communication model in IEC 61850-6. The case study of a typical 220-kV substation demonstrates the validation and availability of the proposed information model and configuration description method, which comply with the current edition of IEC 61850 only requiring minor revisions. Moreover, the proposed information model has the potential to be utilized in online network monitoring and management instead of MIB.