Power System Modeling for Hardware-In-the-Loop Testing of A Traveling-Wave-Based Relay

The increasing complexity of modern power systems due to rapid uptake of smartgrid technologies and renewables necessitates advanced methods for verification and validation of new technology solutions before field deployment. Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) simulation offers a high-fidelity method for test and verification of technology solutions in a close-to-real environment. This paper develops an HIL setup for test and validation of the performance of state-of-the-art, high-speed travelling wave (TW)-based protective relays. Compared to a traditional phasor-based relay, HIL testing of a TW-based relay is more challenging from modeling, numerical computation, and hardware configuration perspectives, given the high-frequency nature of TWs. This paper studies power system modeling requirements for the HIL setup for a TW relay protecting a series-compensated transmission line. The objective is to provide a guide for HIL setup development for such a test, given the type of realtime digital simulator technology that is available. The paper further presents sample HIL test results of an actual SEL-T400L relay assessing the performance of individual protective relay elements.