Real time test bed development for power system operation, control and cyber security

With ongoing smart grid initiative, there is a considerable need for developing new algorithmic solutions and validating at laboratory level before they can be successfully applied in the power grid. This research work addresses the development of a real time test bed by integrating several hardware's including the Allen Bradley Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), National Instruments PXI (NI-PXI) controller, Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS), and Schweitzer Engineering Lab (SEL) devices. This work also integrates the OSIsoft PI Server system and the establishment of data channel over Ethernet/IP for communication and control. The developed test bed is evaluated by simulating a simple test case in RTDS and executing the control logic in PLC. The test bed provides a user friendly Human Machine Interface (HMI) for monitoring and control at different levels of the system along with capabilities for storing the power system data which includes Synchrophasor data for forensic analysis. This test bed will be essentially used for modeling and study of different power system operation control algorithms as well as to investigate cyber vulnerability and mitigation.