Investigation on architectures for power system communications between substations using IEC 61850

This paper investigates the communication network architectures for power systems between substations using IEC 61850. Optimized Network Engineering Tools (OPNET) is used for the simulations. The simulation results show the performance of individual architectures power system communications (PSC) for substation automation systems (SASs). Nowadays, interoperability among multi-vendor substations automation devices is achievable using IEC 61850 standard which allows the PSC between substations. Ethernet based communication protocols for the SASs are specified in IEC 61850 standard. These standards include Ethernet based process-level connections between switchyards and control rooms. However, their in-service performance is not well known yet. The IEC 61850 demands for a communication topology which is zero point failure proof and provides worthy data transmission rates, without pursuing any delays. In order to achieve these norms, Ethernet architectures are modeled and analyzed in detail. The performance of individual architecture also analyzed in terms of their reliability, availability and efficiency of data transfer. The hybrid, star-ring and redundant ring network architectures are the most efficient in terms of data transmission, delay times, reliability and availability between the SASs for data transmission.