A LabVIEW based test system to characterize phasor measurement units

Phaser measurement units (PMUs) have become indispensable elements of a reliable power system network and the ability to make precise time synchronized measurements with the best possible accuracy have made these devices to be the best choice for wide area operation, protection and control in a large power system. Due to the widespread use of synchrophasor measurements, it becomes necessary to characterize each PMU based on their performance and select the appropriate device for the required application. Furthermore, the IEEE Std C37.118.1a-2014 mandates the latest performance standards for the commercial PMUs and classifies them based on their performance. This necessitates the development of a test-bed which is capable of testing different PMUs to check whether they comply with the latest IEEE standard and also to characterize the devices in terms of their accuracy and precision. This paper describes a LabVIEW based PMU testing and calibration system that was developed at Virginia Tech with the support of NIST and is capable of performing the latest steady state, dynamic and latency tests as described in the IEEE Synchrophasor standard. The testing system also provides flexibility by automatic and manual modes of operation to allow the characterization of PMUs based on the requirements of the test operator.