FEATURE

ACCEPTANCE,
COMMISSIONING,
AND FIELD TESTING
FOR PROTECTION AND
AUTOMATION SYSTEMS
B Y M I CH A E L O B R I S T, S TEP H AN G ERSPACH , AND K L AUS-P ET ER BRAND, ABB Switzerland

The introduction of the IEC 61850 standard for communication

in power systems enables companies to build enhanced substation
automation (SA) systems and to distribute requested functionalities
in an optimal and standardized way. This brings new challenges and
opportunities related to interoperability between compliant IEDs and
tools, as well as for testing and maintenance processes.

This article discusses: I NTRODUCTI ON

• The complete sequence of testing from The introduction of IEC 61850 opens up new
products to systems and the impact of IEC possibilities for functionalities in multi-vendor
61850 on these tests SA systems. These new functionalities can
lead to challenges if a user’s requirements for a
• The testing and maintenance requirements
customized SA system are fulfilled according
of the utilities for IEC 61850-based systems
to specifications. At the same time, IEC 61850
• The potential of IEC 61850 related to testing provides the mechanism to develop tools that
and maintaining an SA system, along with facilitate testing and maintenance processes and
some typical examples enable users to benefit from the opportunities
provided by the standard.
• The key role of the System Configuration
Description (SCD) file and the importance Since IEC 61850 is based on mainstream
of the system integrator communication technology and any treatment
needs powerful software-based tools, utility
• The complete testing life cycle as well as maintenance staff must possess the necessary
related support from IEC 61850 regarding skills and tools to exploit the potential for new
testing tools testing and maintenance strategies.

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T E S T IN G I N T H E LIF E C YC LE components and tools is verified and validated.

OF S A S Y ST E M S Part of this validation is the overall system
The complete sequence of testing — from product performance of the provided services, tested in
development to installed, customized systems — a reference system. This project-independent test
is necessary to fulfill the general and dedicated substantially reduces the risks for all SA system
user needs for SA systems. Behind the life cycle of projects to be executed. A second benefit is that
any SA system are the life cycles of all integrated the system configuration tool and its interfaces
products and related tools. From the development with the product tools are also tested. The system
and production of a device (IED) and the required test described in “Exploiting the IEC 61850
software tools to the on-site system tests, a variety Potential for New Testing and Maintenance
of test phases must be passed. Strategies” is not yet formally defined by IEC
61850 or by the UCAIug.
This Life Cycle Testing sequence was defined and
described in a previous Cigre paper. Generally, Routine tests or manufacturing tests in the
all testing is intended to improve quality and production chain ensure a constant quality of
reduce risks for supplier and users. This article delivered devices.
summarizes the required testing sequence, starting
Testing Project Specific Configurations
with the development process of single products
The entire SA system project-testing sequence
(IEDs and tools) through a commissioned system
consists of project-related tests based on the user
customized to the user’s needs as indicated by
specification for the ordered SA system. They are
the project-specific requirements. The basis for
performed by the system integrator (supplier,
reliable in-house testing is the quality system
customer, third party, etc.) as directed by the user.
of the supplier and vendor, according to ISO
These tests confirm that the delivered individual
9001/9002 as far as applicable.
SA system is running as specified.
SA System Project Independent Testing
The testing sequence starts with the Factory
Sequence Handled by the Vendor
Test. It is a project-related test to prepare the
The classic testing sequence starts with the
customized system for the Factory Acceptance
Device Type Test and ends with the Integration
Test (FAT). The FAT determines whether the
Test to ensure proper functioning of the new
equipment operates according to its specifications
product (IED and tool). The Conformance
and covers all functional requirements. The FAT
Test is part of the Device Type Test according
is witnessed and confirmed by the user and ends
to standards such as IEC 61850. Normally, the with a shipping release to site.
conformance of the IED or tool is confirmed
by a certificate issued by a UCA International On site after the installation, the site tests are
Users Group (UCAIug) qualified test center. carried out. During these tests especially, the
The test requirements of IEC 61850-10 and the system interface to the real process will be
derived test procedures defined by the UCAIug verified and the SA system prepared for the Site
are focused only on IED (single-product) testing. Acceptance Test (SAT). The SAT witnessed and
As a result, today’s conformance certificates are confirmed by the user is the final acceptance of
no guarantee of interoperability from a system the delivered system. Then the warranty and
perspective, but they are an important step to maintenance phase starts if applicable.
reaching interoperability.
Maintenance Testing in Operation
The goal of IEC 61850 is interoperability of Using the advantages of self-supervision provided
the IEDs and tools in SA systems. Therefore, in modern numerical system components, many
a generic system test should also belong to the of the tests described in the previous sections will
vendor’s testing sequence. In this step, the not be repeated as part of periodical maintenance
interoperability between the different system testing during the operational phase of the SA

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system. Vendor tests especially may be excluded. A communication profile defines the mandatory
During the operational phase of the life cycle, subset of the standard with the selected
the testing is focused on: options and vendor-specific extensions that are
implemented. Different profiles provided by
• Identifying faulty system components by different products may conform to the standard
periodic tests or self-supervision but still not be 100 percent interoperable with
• Exchanging and reconfiguring faulty system each other. It is the responsibility of the system
integrator to check the interoperability of two
components
or more products based on the conformance
• Testing the repaired system statements of the different products and the
required system functionality. Additionally, the
Periodic functional testing is especially related performance of devices, including delays caused
to the hardwired process interface due to its by communication equipment like switches,
limited self-supervision capabilities. Maintenance has to be verified. These tests, preferably done
activities like extensions of the substation or independently from SA system projects as a kind
its functions need appropriate testing of the of generic system test, will greatly reduce the risks
altered system. In any case, the traceability of for all projects.
configuration changes must be ensured.
Re-Use of Formal System Description in the
C H ANG E S IN T HE TESTI NG Testing Process
P R OC E SS INT R ODUCED BY With the Substation Configuration Language
USING IE C 61850 (SCL), the IEC 61850 standard has introduced
Modern IEC 61850 SA systems are distributed an interoperable and machine-readable
software applications based on exchanging description used for the standardized exchange
standardized information over the substation local of configuration data between engineering tools.
area network. Instead of testing the functionality Based on this configuration language, several file
of single components as in the past, system tests types have been defined in the standard. One of
performed today show more similarities with these files is the Substation/System Configuration
testing of software applications than traditional Description (SCD) file providing the full
testing of individual devices in SA systems. documentation of the SA system as built. The
Because the different SA system components typical content of the SCD file is:
share common system functionalities, the
• Description of complete topology of the
interoperability between those components is a
primary equipment of the substation (single
prerequisite.
line diagram)
With the introduction of IEC 61850 Edition 2, •
Relationship between SA functionality
online testing capabilities are enhanced. defined by Logical Nodes (to be implemented
Several additional features such as Identifier for in the selected IEDs) and the primary
Simulated Messages are introduced, and the equipment
definition of the Mode/Behavior introduced in •
All IEDs (servers) and station-level
IEC 61850 Edition 1 is clarified to be more usable. equipment (clients), including their data
Conformance versus Interoperability models
Standard conforming products (IEDs and • Complete communication system with
tools) from different suppliers, or products addressing and logical data flow
conforming to different standards from
the same supplier, need not fulfill the same From the communication system point of view,
functional scope of supply. They may have the interfaces for each device, client, or server
different communication profiles. connected to the system are described in this

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file. This allows a comprehensive evaluation and required during the entire life cycle for the related
documentation of the physical dataflow between all testing sequences.
system components. These results stay valid if the
configuration of related datasets and control blocks Testing Tools
is only changed during engineering time and not Testing tools are used in all phases and must
created dynamically during runtime. Therefore, support the testing process and automate testing
the static configuration is recommended. activities as much as possible. The testing activities
during acceptance, commissioning, and field
As seen from the definition, the comprehensive testing can be divided into integration testing and
SCD file is the central part of the system functional testing. The SA system has to be tested
documentation and can be used as a standardized for correct communication and configuration
reference for all testing activities related to IEC by an Integration Test tool. With the help of the
61850. This allows comparing data models, Function Test tool, the SA system functions are
configuration version information, and the tested according to user-dependent specifications.
dataflow of the actual IEDs with the information For both testing tasks, it is required to simulate
as engineered in the SCD file. As a result, missing components crucial for the correct
configuration mismatches can be easily detected behavior of the SA system. Therefore, it is most
in the entire SA system. efficient when the testing tool provides simulation
capabilities as well.
The message analysis of the communication
between IEDs at the application level also requires During testing activities in process-bus
the information about the content of the IEC environments, a test engineer needs a way to
61850 datasets. Without this information, the measure the analog values sent from a merging
transmitted values cannot be assigned to the unit (such as a current transformer) to the IEDs.
related attributes of the data model, and an In this case, the testing tool will act as an enhanced
analysis at user level — i.e., a user-friendly analysis volt and ampere meter. In addition to these classic
— is not possible. measured values, it shows useful information like
phase angles and other quality attributes to the test
To fully benefit from the version information engineer.
contained in the SCD file, all engineering tools
must follow the rules for handling configuration For SA functions with embedded GOOSE
changes as defined in IEC 61850, i.e., to functionality like protection, the testing tool
update all relevant configuration indices of the guides the test engineer to operate the IED under
impacted IEDs. Keeping the SCD file up to date test while setting the impacted functions of all
with the commissioned SA system also ensures involved IEDs in the necessary modes (as defined
one common reference for later extensions or in IEC 61850 Ed. 2). One example is the Test-
maintenance tasks. Blocked mode to avoid sending out unwanted
trip signals to a circuit breaker in the process
The information in the SCD file is also the (switchyard). Additionally, under test conditions,
basis for simulating physically nonexistent IEDs it monitors the reaction of the complete involved
for communication (GOOSE, SV, and MMS IED chain to verify the expected result for the
services), for example, during factory testing where specific test case.
the complete SA system is not available.
Diagnostic Tool
T OOL S F OR A C C E P TA NC E , A diagnostic tool isolates the root cause of
C OM MIS S IONING, AND problems reported by the self-supervision of the
F I E L D T E S TING SA system or detected during testing. To identify
A previous Cigre paper confirmed different tool configuration issues, it is often enough to detect
requirements in the different phases of the life that different versions of the configuration files are
cycle of an SA system. Testing tools are generally used within the system. This information helps

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pinpoint the parts that need to be re-loaded with by generating artificial signals with an IED
the latest version. Where the version information simulator.
is consistent, an in-depth comparison of the data
models may help identify further implementation Protection or control IEDs can be tested using
problems with the functions. a generic IEC 61850 client simulation. Such a
client will browse the content of an IED and
Finally, the application-level protocol analysis provide an intuitive interface based on the
makes it easy to detect whether the information result — for example, to send commands to an
sent from one IED to another is correct. This IED and display the resulting feedback in the
application-level information captured on top event list.
of the ethernet can even be enriched by adding
information from the SCD file, such as links to Another case for IED simulation is the usage of
the substation section or signal texts. GOOSE and SV messages. In case a GOOSE
or SV sender is not physically available, a
In the IEC 61850 world, switched ethernet is simulation can produce the required messages
a communication backbone. Since managed on the bus for the IED under test.
switches are used, communication issues can also
be related to the configuration of these active The key to ensure consistency of simulation is
network components (e.g., wrongly defined the re-use of the SCD file for the simulation. All
multicast or VLAN filters). Here a diagnostic required information including configuration
tool will help check whether the configuration of information is contained in the SCD file,
the ethernet equipment matches the logical and making additional configuration of the tool
physical needs. These parameters can be retrieved superfluous.
online and later compared with the documented
The simulation tool should contain a way to
values in the project-specific SCD file.
block an unintended simulation of an IED.
For horizontal IED-IED communication In case an IED with the same addressing
services (GOOSE, SV), it is helpful if the tool information as the IED to be simulated is
also includes the graphical representation of already available on the network, simulation
message content at the application level. This must be blocked to avoid duplicated sending of
helps the engineers focus on the application potentially different values.
level, rather than counting bits and bytes.
Documentation Tool
Simulation Tool At the end of the commissioning, the
When simulating a server IED, a client that acts Documentation Tool should gather all relevant
toward a control center as an HMI or protocol maintenance information from the commissioned
converter, for example, could be tested. The SA system, such as IED firmware and
simulation is restricted to the pure IEC 61850 configuration versions, serial numbers, etc.,
data-model simulation. Any vendor-specific and store them in a report. This information is
functional implementation cannot be provided implicitly contained in the final updated SCD
by a generic tool. A simulation will also not file since it presents a kind of standardized project
replace the point-to-point test from the physical database. This may be a very large file, and linear
process to the HMI or gateway, but can be searching can be time-consuming. Therefore,
used to separate the testing processes to allow the equivalent project information is normally
sequential tests with minimal effort. In this case, stored in a vendor-specific project database for
the HMI will be tested with signals from the fast access. A complementary documentation tool
process ensuring correct wiring up to the IED, reading out the information of interest directly
and the gateway functionality can be tested from the installed system is very convenient.

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R E QU IR E D SKILLS A ND convenient if all tool types are combined in a

EXP E R IE N C E F OR T E S T ING single software package.
I E C 6 1 8 5 0 SY S T E M S
IEC 61850 systems demand additional skills REFERENCES
IEC 61850, “Communication Networks and Systems in
for the operational and process know-how of an Substations.”
SA system. These skills are essential for project
engineers as well as for maintenance personnel in K.P Brand, V.Lohmann, W.Wimmer, Substation Automation
Handbook, ISBN 3-85759-951-5, 2003, www.uac.ch
the utility.
UCA International Users Group, www.ucainternational.org
With the introduction of communication in an
W. Baass, K.P. Brand, S. Gerspach, M. Herzig, A. Kreuzer, T.
SA system, basic data communication know-how Maeda, “Exploiting the IEC 61850 Potential for New Testing
for a field user was required. With the introduction and Maintenance Strategies,” Cigre B5-201, 2008
of IEC 61850, the major principles of IEC
K.P. Brand, T. Maeda, P. Owen, W. Wimmer, “Requirements
61850 such as the data model and functional for Different Tools Over the Life Cycle of IEC 61850-Based
representation in logical nodes (LN) must also be Substation Automation Systems,” Cigre B5.PS119, 2011
known. The same applies for using ethernet and
switches. In any case, the maintenance engineer
needs to be trained in relevant techniques to isolate Michael Obrist is the Global Product
and fix problems in a structured way. Manager for Software Tools within
Substation Automation at ABB Switzerland
Engineering and testing tools can help fulfill the Ltd. Michael has spent nearly 20 years at
ABB working across R&D and product
related new requirements, but a tool does not management within substation automation.
replace the know-how of an engineer. The main His work has focused on developing simple-
objectives of the tool must be to facilitate the to-understand software tools and technologies that help customers
see the unseen from a new perspective.
configuration process, address system complexity,
and provide the required information at a practical Stephan Gerspach is the Systems Architect
level. An IT and communication (ITC) specialist for Products and Tools at ABB Switzerland
Ltd. He is responsible for the compliance of
is not needed for every project, but rather a the substation automation product portfolio
substation engineer with all his skills. The ITC to the requirements from an SA System
expertise is embedded in the tools. perspective. Stephan has more than 18 years
of experience in the substation automation
domain after working various positions in
C ON C L U S I ON project execution, product verification and validation, and system
On one hand, IEC 61850 allows the combination architecture. He is an active member of the UCAIug IEC 61850
of system components from different vendors Testing Subcommittee.
within one SA system with enhanced and Klaus-Peter Brand is part of the small
distributed functionality and a complex interaction team introducing Substation Automation
in BBC/ABB Switzerland. The co-author
between these components. On the other hand,
of “Substation Automation Handbook,”
IEC 61850 supports the simplification of related Klaus-Peter is a board member of the
configuration, testing, and maintenance activities Cigre SC B5 and is an IEEE Fellow. With
by providing SCL used by tools in all phases of the the beginning of the development of IEC
61850, he became a member, TF leader,
testing life cycle. To ease the handling of software and editor in the IEC TC57 WG10. He is also a consultant
updates and licensing for testing tools, it is most and teacher in the ABB University Switzerland.

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