33KV CIRCUIT BREAKER MONITORING AND CONTROL USING GSM 2014

HARARE POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE

DESIGN PROJECT
CONTROL AND MONITORING OF 33KV REMOTE SUBSTATION
CIRCUIT BREAKER

STUDENT NAME ADMIRE DANDA

CANDIDATE NO 1113001I00261

COURSE ELECTRICAL POWER

LEVEL HND

DEPARTMENT ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

YEAR 2014

A PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS OF THE HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN ELECTRICAL
POWER ENGINEERING.

APPROVAL FORM

The undersigned certify that they have read and recommended to Harare

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Polytechnic College for the acceptance of the project proposal entitled.

Control and monitoring of 33kv remote substation 33kv Circuit
Breaker. When the circuit breaker trips, a signal is sent as a text
message to a user mobile phone to alert personnel of the status. The user
can in turn send a command text message to close the circuit breaker
from remote.

A project proposal submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of

the Higher National Diploma in Electrical Power Engineering.

………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………..

PROGRAM/ SUBJECT COODINATOR

……………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………

EXTERNAL EXAMINER

Date: ………………………………………………………..

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ABSTRACT

When a 33kv circuit breaker at Dorowa mines trips, an operative and his/her two assistants
has to drive eighty kilometres to reset and close the breaker. In eighty five to ninety per cent
of the time the fault is only transient, given that the Dorowa mine feeder is an overhead line.
It has become very expensive to fix a temporary fault. A total distance of about one hundred
and sixty kilometres is travelled translating into a fuel cost being incurred. It takes a total of
two hours for the personnel to prepare themselves and close the breaker. This is downtime in
which a lot of revenue is lost both by the electricity supply company and by the customer. If
this happens at night or on a weekend, around four hours of overtime will have to be paid to
the operatives. This is just considering one 33kv circuit at a station which might have six such
circuits and several 11kv circuits. This paper then presents an idea of switching ON and OFF
circuit breakers remotely using GSM (Global System for Mobile communication). The same is
also used to monitor the status of the circuit breakers and the voltage on the feeder.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express our heartily gratitude to my project advisor Mr K
Chitiza for the guidance and enthusiasm given throughout the progress of this project.
Without him this could not have been a success.

My appreciation also goes to Mr Garamukanwa, , Mr Kapatenka, Mr Ziyambe, who have been

so tolerant and supported me in the making of this project the knowledge that they
imparted in me will go a long way.
I would also like to thank all the Electrical Department staff, for their co-operation, guidance
and help in this project. To Marshal and all my classmates and who were involved directly or
indirectly with this project, I salute you.

Nevertheless, my greatest appreciation is dedicated to my wife Nyasha,, for being behind

the project and for the encouragement and support throughout the journey of this project.
My appreciation also goes to my eldest son Watipamufaro, and my twin babies Michael and
Michaiah for all the time I could have been with them but was spent on research.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE SURVEY

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 4 TESTING PROCEDURE AND RESULTS

CONCLUSIONS

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS

CHIP MANUALS

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CHAPTER 1

1.1 Introduction

GSM technology is now being applied in our day to day life like never before. It was first
used for full duplex voice telephony and was gradually expanded to include data
communications , first by circuit-switched transport, then packet data transport via GPRS
(General Packet Radio Services) and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution or
EGPRS). Because of its enhancements, it can now be applied in a variety of fields in day to
day living. This final year project is to study and understand how GSM technology can be
used in electrical power monitoring and control of a remote electrical substation. The study
also includes how to improve the application and reduce costs. The main components of
this project are divided into two parts, namely hardware and software. The main hardware
components are the GSM SIM 900 module, the ATMEGA 8 microcontroller circuit, a sensor,
voltage comparator circuit, a relays circuit and a user mobile better known as a cellphone.
The software component is the Proteus Isis, Arduino 1.0.5-3 and AT commands.

1.2 Project background

GSM substation monitoring and control system is a system that can be used to control
substation equipment such as transformer tap changers and high voltage circuit breakers. It
can also be used to monitor transformer temperature, oil level and voltage, circuit breaker
and isolator status and tap changer status. In fact everything in a substation that can have a
sensor fitted on it can be monitored by this system. The microcontroller facilitates the
communication between user and device. The GSM module is used to allow this user-device
communication to be done cordlessly and remotely. The Arduino 1.0.5-3 software is used to
specify how the control and monitoring of devices will be done i.e. how to deal with sensor
input. This project will go through three stages;
1. Choice of microcontroller and its programming.
2. Application of GSM technology.

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3. Analyze and reduce costs.

1.3 Problem statement

When a 33kv circuit breaker at Dorowa mines trips, an operative and his/her two assistants
have to drive eighty kilometres to reset and close the breaker. In seventy five per cent of the
time the fault is only transient, given that the Dorowa mine feeder is an overhead line. It has
become very expensive to fix a temporary fault. A total distance of about one hundred and
sixty kilometres is travelled translating into a big fuel cost being incurred. It takes a total of
two hours for the personnel to prepare themselves and close the breaker. This is downtime
in which a lot of revenue is lost both by the electricity supply company and by the customer.
If this happens at night or on a weekend, around four hours of overtime will have to be paid
to the operatives. This is just considering one 33kv circuit at a station which might have six
such circuits and several 11kv circuits. Bigger substations are controlled and monitored by
the National Control Centre using high voltage power line carrier system (PLC) for
communication, but the smaller and remote substations suffer. Since the smaller
substations are dotted throughout the country it becomes unreasonably expensive to
connect all of them to the PLC network. This project then seeks to eradicate the problem by
introducing a reasonably priced system to reduce costs of outage to the electricity supply
network and at the same time monitor the network from remote so that an operative can
make decisions on system management without having to travel to a remote place, unless it
is really necessary to do so.

1.4 Objective
There are some objectives that need to be achieved if this project is to become successful.
These objectives will act as a guide and will restrict the system to be implemented for a
specified scenario
1. To develop a control system for a 33 KV circuit breaker, in order to open and close it
under normal and abnormal conditions.
2. To monitor bus bar voltage and circuit breaker status

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3. To use GSM as a medium to receive messages from a breaker status sensor and the
voltage comparator.
4. To effect a command given by a user as an sms through mobile phone and GSM
module to actuate a relay on the output.
5. To use the recently developed Arduino 1.0.5-3 for ATMEGA microcontrollers to
develop a program to carry out the specified commands.

1.5 Scope of study

The scope of this project is to design and fabricate a system that will monitor and control
high voltage substation equipment from remote. An understanding of how to interface an
ATMEGA microcontroller circuit to a GSM circuit is needed. One also has to understand Data
Communications, since it is one of the main platforms of this project. Proteus Isis is an
engineering circuit design and drawing software for microcontroller circuit drawing and
simulation. The system should be designed with standard electronic components readily
available on the market. The beauty of Proteus Isis is that it allows us to simulate the project
so that time and effort is not wasted in arranging and soldering a circuit that will not work.
Serial data knowledge will be an important part in the development of this system. A good
mastery of programming languages is of paramount importance since the program will
dictate how the circuit will work. Arduino 1.0.5-3 is perfect for the ATMEGA microcontroller
circuit as it is specifically made for ATMEL components and has a lot of functions for the
microcontroller.
1.6 Project expectation
This system will protect client equipment by alerting a controller of sustained high and low
voltages in the system who will then switch off supply remotely. It will ensure speedy
restoration of supplies to the network in the event of supply loss due to a temporary fault.
For this particular project, only one circuit breaker will have its voltage monitored and can
be switched ON and OFF. In future this system will be extended to monitoring transformer
temperature, oil level and tap changer position. It can also relay messages of what
protection devices will have operated on a feeder. All these can be displayed on a computer
wirelessly to a local controller. This can be further developed to have simple user friendly

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tabs on a computer or a substation mimic diagram for ease of reading of substation

equipment positions.

1.7 Report structure

Chapter one:
This chapter tells us in detail the introduction of the project. It covers the project
background, scope and project expectations. The introduction justifies the development of
the project.
Chapter two:
This chapter gives scope of study and all the research done to understand how this project
works
Chapter three:
This chapter discusses the methods that are used and the phases the project will go
through. It contains the types of hardware and software used for the project.
Chapter four:
This chapter shows the results of the finished project. It includes images of the project. The
results will be shown in two parts namely hardware and software.
Chapter five:
This is the conclusion of the project. It gives a summary of the project to the reader. In this
chapter any new solutions, suggestions improvements or upgrades to the project are given.

1.8 Summary
The overall purpose of the project is to study and explore the application of the
microcontroller in a monitoring and control system and the use of GSM system in such an
application. This application will give the student vast new knowledge of how things work in
the communication world and also in the electronics world. It becomes more interesting
when the two mentioned fields are used to control and monitor power systems.

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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

Electrical power is crucial to any society and is at the centre of economic growth of any

nation. Ever since it was discovered, it has found so many applications and has replaced so

many industrial technologies such that without it, industry grinds to a halt. The increased

use of electrical power necessitated the construction of centres to generate the power

(power stations) and some to distribute the power to users (substations). In 1881 two

electricians built the world's first power system at Godalming in England. It was powered by

a power station consisting of two waterwheels that produced an alternating current that in

turn supplied seven Siemens arc lamps at 250 volts and 34 incandescent lamps at 40 volts.

However supply to the lamps was intermittent and in 1882 Thomas Edison and his company,

The Edison Electric Light Company, developed the first steam powered electric power

station on Pearl Street in New York City. The Pearl Street Station initially powered around

3,000 lamps for 59 customers. The power station used direct current and operated at a

single voltage. Direct current power could not be easily transformed to the higher voltages

necessary to minimize power loss during long-distance transmission, so the maximum

economic distance between the generators and load was limited to around half-a-mile.

Alternating current was then found to be transformable and could feed loads that are far

away. Once electricity had been transformed to high voltages for ease of transmission, it

had to be stepped down at substations for consumer use. Substations are an arrangement

of transformers, switchgear, bus bars, measurents and relay all to enable a safe, reliable and

secure transmission and distribution of electrical power.

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33/36kv Substation line diagram

Above is a typical 132/33kv substation layout. It has got a 33kv bus bar were a step up

transformer is tapping its power from. This transformer then feeds a 36kv bus bar which in

turn feeds several 33kv feeders to consumers or to other substations for further stepping

down. Normally, a substation contains a number of lines and transformer bays and also

other bays. All bays are similar to the line bay. Auxiliary circuits are electrical circuits which

contain measurement, signaling, control and protection devices.

With the substation evolving and getting bigger, and also with quite long distances now

involved in transmitting electricity, there came a need to control and regulate power under

various circumstances which may be caused by load or the environment. In events of short

circuits substation and line switchgear had to respond swiftly to cut off the large fault

currents in order to safeguard the electrical equipment such as switchgears from thermal

and magnetic stresses. It was also undesirable to have broken live lines on the ground

awaiting human intervention for them to be cut off. Excessive voltages could damage the

insulation of substation equipment and consumer equipment. Since most substations are

remote and not manned a way had to be found which would automatically react to

abnormal voltages and currents within the fed network. This led to the development of

protective relaying as the first step to total substation automation.

A relay is an automatic device which senses an abnormal condition in an electric circuit and

closes its contacts. The first relay was developed in the 1900s and from then onwards, relays

have been improved to automatic devices. The first relay functions were integrated in a

circuit breaker design and acted as over current trips. The first stand-alone

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electromechanical relay was designed in 1904. The first relay of induction type was

delivered in 1912 to a hydropower station in the north of Sweden, built to deliver power at

162 Hz to the railway

The development of relays can be divided into three main stages namely;

Electromechanical relays (1900s)

The first relay function were integrated in a circuit breaker design and acted as over current

trips. The first stand-alone electromechanical relay was designed in 1904. The first relay of

induction type was delivered in 1912 to a hydropower station in the north of Sweden, built

to deliver power at 162 Hz to the railway.

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Static or electronic relays (1960s)

These were introduced in the form of timers, time over current relays etc. The

measurement is performed by electric, magnetic, optical or other components with the help

of comparison and measurement.

Advantages

1. Moving parts and contacts are eliminated.

2. More precise and high speed operation. These were famous for their high speed

operation (i.e. 21ms or less) which insures high security

Microprocessor based relays (1980s)

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Operate by critical filtering of time, performed with analogue electronics. These are also

known as numeric or programmable relay.

Advantages

1. Display information about faulted part

2. Includes many features such as fault diagnostic, fault locator etc.

3. Capable of replacing all specific purpose relay by a single relay for various fault. The

protection, monitoring and control were also easier for this relay

The most advanced form of relay is the intelligent electronic device (IEDs). This focuses on

the communication between two pieces of equipment and is usually used in transmission

ring networks.

In most rural and remote areas, the electrical network is made up of mainly overhead lines.

This is because the lines are bound to be long and such type of construction tends to be

cheaper compared to laying underground cables. Besides, fault finding is made easier since

it usually is visual inspection of the line. However, such a network is susceptible to many

faults since the electrical conductors are exposed. The types of faults on the line can range

from trees falling on the line to flash overs caused by conductive air passing by the

conductors, for example smoke. Therefore eighty to ninety per cent of overhead line faults

are of a transient nature. This becomes a problem when dealing with a relay which only sees

an overcurrent and then trips. It would mean that long journeys may be taken just to reset a

circuit breaker which will have tripped on a temporary fault.

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Auto reclosing

To try and overcome the transient events problem, an auto re-closer was developed. An

auto re-closer is a circuit breaker equipped with a mechanism that can automatically close

the breaker after it has been opened due to a fault. They are used on overhead distribution

systems to detect and interrupt momentary faults. Since many short circuits on overhead

lines clear themselves, a re-closer improves service continuity by automatically restoring

power to the line after a momentary fault. The control system of a re-closer allows a

selected number of attempts to restore service after adjustable time delays. For example a

re- loser a ha e or fast re lose operatio s ith a fe se o ds dela , a d the a

longer delay and one reclose. If the last attempt is not successful, the re-closer will lock out

and require human intervention to reset. If the fault is of a permanent nature (a tree branch

on the line, wires on the ground, etc.) the auto re-closer will exhaust its pre-programmed

attempts to re energise the line and remain tripped off until manually commanded to try

again. Auto re-closers can be found as a compact unit or an auto reclose relay may be fitted

to an existing circuit breaker. Nowadays the auto reclosing function is inbuilt in the

microprocessor relays that will in turn be connected to the circuit breaker electronic wiring.

Short comings of auto reclosing

Although auto reclosing has improved relaying by achieving a bit of automation as far as

substation, network and consumer equipment protection is concerned, it has its limitations

namely,

 The auto re-closer can still trip to lock out on a prolonged transient fault. For

example if there is smoke passing through an overhead line, it may take a bit long to

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clear than the pre-programmed time of the re-closer operation. This will then

require human intervention to reset the re-closer.

 It cannot react to certain emergency conditions, like the need to shed load and

restore supply. If for example a report comes in of a dangerously low lying conductor

(maybe it has slipped off the insulator), the re-closer will not detect the fault and

therefore will not interrupt that part of the network. The whole network will have to

be interrupted from the nearest point until personnel can go and isolate the affected

area using that auto re-closer.

Voltage control

In an electrical network, voltage changes continuously according to the varying electrical

demand, transmission and distribution line utilisation and emergency situations that arise

on the power system. Since customers require voltage quality, a means to control the

voltage had to be devised.

The voltage controlling problem can be divided into two situations, which are normal

situation and emergency situation. This paper only talks about voltage control in the 33kv

distribution network, which is mainly by a transformer tap changer.

Tap changer

A tap changer is a connection point selection mechanism along a power transformer

winding that allows a variable number of turns to be selected in discrete steps. A

transformer with variable turns ratio is produced, enabling stepped voltage regulation of the

output. Tap changers started off as off load tap changers. This type of tap changer requires

that no load is connected to the transformer or that the transformer is de energised

completely. This is only useful for seasonal load variations. In a system where there are so

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many load changes, hence many voltage variations in a day, it becomes uneconomical and

unreliable to switch of supply so many times a day in order to tap change. An On-load tap

changer then takes centre stage. Such an arrangement is employed for changing the turn-

ratio of the transformer to regulate the system voltage while the transformer is delivering

load. Still it is uneconomical for a person to drive to a transformer station to change taps

whenever the voltage changes. An automatic On-load tap changer is now needed.

An automatic on load tap changer uses a relay called a line drop compensator (LDC). This

relay is fed with two line elements which are current from a line current transformer (CT)

and voltage from a voltage transformer (VT) on the substation bus bar. The LDC can be

electro mechanic or static.

Power station automation

This is an act of automatically controlling power via instrumentation and control devices.

Substation automation refers to using data from intelligent electronic devices , control and

automation capability within the substation and control commands from remote users to

control power system devices. Monitoring and control of the power system equipment is

done so as to reduce the occurrence of outages and shorten the duration of outages that do

occur. It is also done to safeguard supply utilities and consumer equipment from damage

due to power elements. A swift and intelligent reaction is also required in some special

situations which relays cannot detect.

The term power system refers to a collection of devices that make up the physical system

that generate, transmit and distribute power. Power system automation is composed of

several tasks

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Data acquisition

Data acquisition refers to acquiring of collecting data. This data is collected in the form of

measured analogue current or voltage values or the open or closed status of contact points.

Acquired data can be used locally within the device collecting it, sent to another device in a

substation, or sent from the substation to one or several databases for use by operators,

engineers, planners and administration.

Supervision

Computer processes or personnel supervise or monitor the conditions or status of the

power system using this acquired data. Operators and engineers monitor the information

remotely on computer displays and graphical wall displays or locally, at the device, on front

panel displays and laptop computers.

Control

Control refers to sending command messages to a device to operate the I&C and power

system devices. Traditionally supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) rely on

operators to supervise the system and initiate commands from an operator console on the

master computer. Field personnel can also control devices using front-panel push buttons or

a lap top computer.

Hardware structure of the power-system automation

Data acquisition

The instrument transformers with protective relays are used to sense the power-system

voltage and current. They are physically connected to power-system apparatus and convert

the actual power-system signals. The transducers convert the analogue output of an

instrument transformer from one magnitude to another or from one value type to another,

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such as from an AC current to DC voltage. Also the input data is taken from the auxiliary

contacts of switch gears and power-system control equipment.

Main processing instrumentation and control (I&C) device

The I&C devices built using microprocessors are commonly referred to as intelligent

electronic devices (IEDs). Microprocessors are single chip computers that allow the devices

into which they are built to process data, accept commands, and communicate information

like a computer. Automatic processes can be run in the IEDs. Some IEDs used in power-

system automation are:

Remote Terminal Unit (RTU)

A remote terminal unit is an IED that can be installed in a remote location, and acts

as a termination point for field contacts. A dedicated pair of copper conductors is

used to sense every contact and transducer value. These conductors originate at the

power-system device, are installed in trenches or overhead cable trays, and are then

terminated on panels within the RTU. The RTU can transfer collected data to other

devices and receive data and control commands from other devices. User

progra a le ‘TUs are referred to as s art ‘TUs.

Meter

A meter is an IED that is used to create accurate measurements of power-system

current, voltage, and power values. Metering values such as demand and peak are

saved within the meter to create historical information about the activity of the

power system.

Digital fault recorder

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A digital fault recorder (DFR) is an IED that records information about power-system

disturbances. It is capable of storing data in a digital format when triggered by

conditions detected on the power system. Harmonics, frequency, and voltage are

examples of data captured by DFRs.

Programmable logic controller (PLC)

A Programmable Logic Controller can be programmed to perform logical control. As

with the RTU, a dedicated pair of copper conductors for each contact and transducer

value is terminated on panels within the PLC. It is like a work-horse which work upon

the command given by their master.

Protective relay

A protective relay is an IED designed to sense power-system disturbances and

automatically perform control actions on the I&C system and the power system to

protect personnel and equipment. The relay has local termination so that the copper

conductors for each contact do not have to be routed to a central termination panel

associated with RTU

Controlling (output) devices

Load tap changer (LTC)

Load tap changers are devices used to change the tap position on transformers.

These devices work automatically or can be controlled via another local IED or from

a remote operator or process.

Re closer controller

Re closer controllers remotely control the operation of automated re-closers and

switches. These devices monitor and store power-system conditions and determine

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when to perform control actions. They also accept commands from a remote

operator or process.

History of power system automation

Operational Automation Systems

There are three generic parts to the operational automation system: The Master Station

(central/host location), the Remote Interface Devices, commonly referred to as Remote

Terminal Units (RTUs), and the Communications System. Each is summarized in the

following sections.

Master Stations

Some of the earliest Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems were

installed in the 1920s. At the time, some high voltage substations adjacent to power plants

ge erati g statio s ould e o itored a d o trolled fro the po er pla t s o trol

room. This eliminated the need to staff the substations all the time even if the substations

were some distance from the power plant control room. These systems consisted of two

control and monitoring boards, one in the substation and one in the power plant. Eventually

the power plant substation board was reduced to a single panel that could be multiplexed

to each of the substation control panels. Power plant governor control – used to change the

output of a generator – was essentially a manual operation based on instructions from the

System Control Centre.

In the 1930s, individual utilities started interconnecting to interchange electricity to reduce

operating costs. With this came the need to control generation much more closely, so

analog computers were developed to monitor and control generator output, tie-line power

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flows and frequency.

By the 1950s the analog computers were enhanced to schedule generation to each

generator to provide the lowest cost of generation. These functions were called Economic

Dispatch (ED) and Automatic Generation Control (AGC), and the systems were labeled

Energy Management Systems (EMS). The EMS functions were supported by off-line manual

calculations to determine which company could produce the next block of energy at the

lowest cost. Negotiations were then conducted between the utilities to set the tie-line

power flow schedules.

In the late 1960s, digital computers and software were developed to replace the analog EMS

systems. Software applications were developed to include the off-line analysis functions

alo g ith tra s issio s ste a al sis odels. Ve dors odified the o puter supplier s

operating system to meet their design and each set of application software was usually

unique for each customer. Thus, when the computers needed to be upgraded or more

functions were required the entire Master System had to be replaced. This trend continued

into the 1980s and 1990s until open standard operating systems were developed that

supported real-time applications.

Some utilities worked with vendors to develop and deploy hierarchical control systems. The

lower level systems monitored and controlled portions of the transmission and distribution

grids. This reduced the EMS database size and the amount of information communicated to

the EMS system.

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Control Systems: Then and now.

Remote Terminal Units (RTUs)

In the early application of monitoring and control systems, the interface between the power

system and the control system was in a remote location. This interface was designated a

Remote Terminal Unit (RTU). An RTU consisted of a cabinet or panel of terminals for the

instrumentation and control wires, which connected it to the power system. The position of

the power system switches and circuit breakers were monitored by auxiliary relays. When

the relay was closed, the power system switch was closed and a current was present

resulti g i a i ar sig al. Whe the rela a d the s it h ere ope the i ar ou t

as a . A alog alues ere o tai ed fro pote tial tra sfor ers a d urre t

transformers connected to the power system buses and circuits.

The transformer output was 120 Volts AC and nominal 5 Amperes AC; these values were

converted by transducers to +/- 1 milliampere DC. The RTU had analog devices to convert

the analog values into binary values (usually 8 to 12 bits).

Thus, the digital and analog input values from the power system could be sent as a series of

binary values to the master station for display and analysis purposes. The auxiliary relays in

the RTU used for controlling power system devices were addressable so the operator could

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select the address for a specific power system device and function, (open or close) and send

the command to the RTU.

The RTU remained basically the same until the mid-1970s when rugged microprocessors

that could withstand the substation environment became available. The application of

microprocessors reduced the hardware complexity of the RTU, but the interface wiring

remained unchanged, or even increased as the external milliamp transducers were replaced

by internal analog to digital converters. The use of these analog-to digital (A/D) converters

required that the AC secondary amperes and voltages be brought to the RTU.

Why use a microcontroller for substation and computer interface?

The writer of this project is designing a monitoring and controlling system for a small

remote voltage regulating substation. The set-up of the 33/36kv auto voltage regulating

substation is as bellow.

Fro the diagra , it a e see that there are a fe i puts lose a d ope o ta ts

from the circuit breaker and a voltage input from the substation VT) to the RTU. The writer

will use a microprocessor for an RTU. The use of a microprocessor provides the opportunity

to greatly increase the capabilities of an RTU. The capabilities include time keeping,

individual point numbering, local logging and time tagging of events, higher communication

speeds and multiple communication ports. Even with a complex substation, the use of a

microprocessor greatly reduces the bulkiness of an RTU, thereby lowering the cost of

establishing a substation-remote operator interface. Due to their low cost, microprocessors

can be installed even on each pole mounted remote auto re-closers and sectionaliser so that

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these can be monitored and controlled.

Communications Systems in substation automation

Telephone system

Early utility monitoring and control systems were structured around telephone technology

and used leased telephone lines operating at 300 bits/second. Leased phone lines are still

the most common communications system element. Many are still operating at 1200

bits/second, but some have been upgraded to 4800 bits/second and a few to 9600

bits/second. Several utilities have even installed private telephone systems with high-speed

switching and automatic fault recovery capabilities.

Power line carrier (PLC)

Early on, utilities faced the problem of communicating to very remote hydroelectric power

plants, and installed power-line carrier systems between high voltage substations to solve

the problem. These systems carried both voice and data, which solved the problem as long

as there was a direct link between the two substations. Power line communication (PLC)

technology uses transmission and distribution lines as a transmission medium. Maximizing

the use of existing infrastructure, PLC is a reliable and secure way to network. PLC has the

following advantages;

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 Broad coverage – where ever there is a power line, this method can be used.

Therefore all equipment communication with the master station is guaranteed,

including those in remote areas.

 High bandwidth – PLC technology has managed to reach a speed of 45 Mbps.

 Easy installation – as power lines are available even in remote areas, it is very easy to

install compared to other communication technologies. It does not use extra wiring

so it does not pose an installation problem in terms of resources and expertise.

Despite these benefits, PLC has the following drawbacks;

 Lack of availability – communication over the power lines may be lost due to an open

circuit of the installed devices. This restricts the usefulness of PLC for applications

especially involving switches, re-closers and sectionalisers.

 Noise – it is one of the growing concerns when communication infrastructure is

installed in an environment where electrical signals are generated and transmitted at

a larger scale. Thus it is not feasible to consider power lines as communication

infrastructure for substation automation since presence of high voltage devices in

substation generate a noisy environment for communication. These noisy sources

over the power line can result in high bit error rates during communication which

severely degrades the performance of PLC.

 High attenuation – the communication over power lines might be lost because of

high signal attenuation and distortion, or may degrade the reliability to take crucial

steps in response to an event. Physical topology of the power network and load

impedance fluctuations over the power lines are the sources of signal attenuation

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and distortion. Power cables are not twisted and also not having proper shielding

results in a fair amount of Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI).

Optical Fibre Communication

The optical fibre technology was first demonstrated in 1952 for internal medical. Later

optical fibre found use as a medium for telecommunication and networking because of its

flexibility can easily be bundled as cables. In case of substation automation, fibre optical

communication is the most demanding and eye catching communication infrastructure that

gives very high speed. Optical fibre can easily carry high bandwidth data, making it possible

to use with substations to share bandwidth capacity with other users. Furthermore optical

fibre is the most demanding communication medium for substations as characterised by

high voltage operating environment because of its EMI/RFI immunity.

Advantages of optical fibre use

 Coverage – suitable for long distance communication because light propagates

through the fibre with little attenuation compared to electrical cables. For up to

2km, there is no need to amplify the signal or use a repeater.

 Light weight – this makes them ideal for applications where using copper would be

impractical.

 Security – very secure compared to other communication technologies. This makes it

difficult to tap into a fibre cable to read data signals.

 Extremely high bandwidth – current optical fibre communication provides

transmission rates of up to 10Gbps using single wavelength transmission and 40

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Gbps to 1 600 Gbps using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). In addition very

low bit error rates (BER = 10^-15) in fibre optic communications are observed. Due

to high bandwidth capacity and low BER characteristics optical fibre is used as the

physical layer Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks.

 Immunity characteristics – optical fibres are immune to energy radiation and

possible interference external sources. They are more secure when it comes to signal

trapping, crosstalk and EMI/RFI.

The only disadvantage of using opti al fi re is the prohi iti e ost. It s e e ore e pe si e

when used for remote monitoring and controlling of substations.

GSM (Global System for Mobile communication)

GSM can trace its origins as far back as 1975 when Henry Kieffer from the Swiss PTT

suggested Europe needed to find new spectrum for mobile at 900Mhz – the vital raw

material for radio.

Setting up of GSM was the next significant milestone. Similar standards activity also started

in USA and Japan. In those countries the standards responsibility for the radio and the linked

network were split between standards bodies. A similar split has existed inside inside CEPT,

the critical decision in 1982 was to allow GSM to define everything it needed for itself. This

secured a competitive edge for European mobile standards making.

Over the next few years GSM became a funnel of ideas from every research and

development lab in Europe. Great institutions like CNET, CSELT and BTRL, key industrial Labs

(Ericsson, Alcatel etc) and many Universities were all drawn into this exciting new

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opportunity – to digitalise Europe s o ile et orks. The future su ess of G“M the

passed into the hands of hundreds of engineers from all the major mobile operators and the

large systems companies. The result was a common cellular radio network right across

Europe to serve not only the needs of the business community but the rest of the

consumers. Short Message Services (SMS) originated with Friedhelm Hillerbrand and

Bernard Ghillebaert but the first SMS was sent over GSM by Neil Papworth to Ian Harris and

was received on an Orbitel in 1992. Not much happened in between but the final success

story of the SMS occurs around 1995. A substantial number of GSM networks are by then

providing inter-connection of SMS messaging and mobile prepaid arrives. The driving factor

for the success of the SMS was its cost, at 10 times less than a telephone call.

Why use GSM for substation communication?

In this project, the writer proposes the use of GSM technology. It has the advantage of

saving on cabling costs and rapid installation of the communication infrastructure.

Zimbabwe has got four mobile operators (Econet, Netone, Telecel and Africom) and their

combined operations have the whole country covered so that all the operators can be used

for the different electrical equipment in different remote areas. GSM technology has

flexibility. This means that a device and its associated communication equipment can be

relocated at no additional cost of rewiring and excessive downtime. A new device and its

associated communication equipment can also be installed easily, especially those remote

pole-mounted auto re-closers and sectionalisers which cannot be reached by PLC and

Optical Fibre Technology mainly due to their prohibitive cost. Although it might have limited

bandwidth, it will be sufficient for the very few equipment being monitored and controlled

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on the remote 33/36kv substation. It is also sufficient for the individual re-closers and

sectionalisers doted around the remote electrical power system. Using the SMS function in

GSM makes the whole communication process with power system equipment very cheap

since only an abnormal condition will be recorded and sent to the user mobile. As long as

normal conditions prevail on the distribution line, no sms will be sent to user mobile

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CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT METHODOLOGY

The term methodology may be explained as the systematic theoretical analysis of the
methods applied to a project or theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles
associated with a project.

I had an established collaboration with my organization, ZETDC Zimbabwe to have this

project to develop an GSM monitored and controlled 33kv Circuit Breaker at Dorowa
mine. There has been an outstanding need for this system to be developed ever since the
substation at Dorowa was built. Below are extracts from ISRs (Interuption of Supply
Reports) kept at Rusape Customer Service Centre dating back to the year 2003;

Date: 12 December 2003

Received a call that Murambinda 33/11kv substation U52 Had no supply. I

discovered that 33kv circuit breaker U14S19 at Dorowa had tripped on no
indication. I patrolled line and attempted reclosure. Supply in and holding

Weather conditions(tick appropriate): rain or drizzle

Cause of fault: unknown

Total Distance travelled: 242km

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Date: 3 June 2004

Buhera 33k feeder lost po er. O i estigatio I fou d out that 33k CB
U14S19 had tripped. Attempted reclosure, supply now ok.

Weather conditions (tick appropriate): fine and normal

Cause of fault: unknown

Total distance travelled: 93km

Date: 21 March 2006

Found 33kv CB U14S19 tripped on red phase overcurrent protection.

Atte pted reclosure, supply i a d holdi g

Weather condition (tick appropriate): windy

Cause of fault: unknown

Total distance travelled: 97km.

In May 2006 due to a malfunctioning under volts relay, a record 17 travels were made to
Dorowa substation just to reset the relay and close the circuit breaker after load shedding.
This has greatly increased the need to embark on this project.

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3.1 DEVELOPMENT

The project success hinges on the ability to connect together the sections of the
hardware depicted by the diagrams, complemented by software which will run from the
ATMega 328 Microcontroller. On the input side, a sensor, in this case a normally close
auxiliary switch is connected to pin 9. When circuit breaker trips, pin 9 goes high. This will
be a “IM9 .pri tl CB 9 off command to the microcontroller which will in turn send
the sms to the GSM modem to be transmitted to the user mobile handset.

When a command is sent from a user mobile, to close the circuit breaker remotely, it is
received by the GSM module as text. The microcontroller is so programmed as to
constantly read the GSM module until it sends characters as per written program. The
i ro o troller ill the e e ute the progra aki g the desired pi HIGH The pi
is then connected to a transistor switch through a 1K resistor to protect the
microcontroller from excessive current.

ATMega 328 has an inbuilt comparator. An analog 5V input is connected to the input
analog pins. The program is then set to respond to excessive voltage or under voltage in
comparison to a set voltage limit. The following software is to be used

 Proteus ISIS for simulation

 Eagle for track layout
 Arduino 1.0.1.5 for programing via USB

3.1.1 Multimeter

Before assembling, the populated Vero board has to be tested using a digital multi-meter to
detect shorts caused by soldering. Corrective action was taken in areas where the operation
was not in line with what was expected. The multi-meter used was a Fluke 178 series. This is
capable of measuring DC voltage up to 1000V. The prototype operates with DC voltages of
5V, so the instrument was suitable for measuring input and output voltages at each stage on
the Vero board. Current measure was also in the correct range as it can measure currents up
to 20A reliably.

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3.1.2 Eagle Software

Eagle software was used to generate circuit diagrams. It was used to draw the main
circuit diagram. It has myriad of components available for use with the advantage of
being able to import any components in that version.

3.1.3 PCB Circuit Board fabrication

A printed circuit board or PCB is used to mechanically support and electrically connect
electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from
copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. The following diagram
illustrates the stages that are followed in PCB fabrication.

3.1.4 Printing artwork

The PCB layout was printed from onto a white piece of paper. The printing was then
photocopied to a transparency paper. The transparency was used for photo-resist PCB
board exposure in the next stage.

3.1.5 Exposure

The first stage was the preparation of the PCB board for Exposure. The white/black
protective film on the resistive was torn off. The transparency artwork was placed on top
of the PCB board and the artwork secured with a masking tape. A piece of glass was then
placed on top to make a good contact between the artwork and the PCB board. Close
proximity was also maintained to ensure that the trace was not exposed to UV light. The
PCB was then exposed to the UV light for 10 minutes using a normal fluorescent lamp. The
lamp was placed near the artwork.

3.1.6 Developing
Sodium hydroxide was used in developing the PCB. The solvent composite for making the
developer consisted of a ratio of 1-unit of sodium hydroxide to 20 units of water. A glass
rod was used whilst working with the material because glass is less reactive with most of
chemical compounds. The PCB board by was immersed into the chemical solution and

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was continuously agitated until the board was developed. The end point for the
development was the appearance of the color on PCB traces. The green layer is the
photo resist layer which protects the copper surface underneath during the etching
process. The region to be etched away later was exposed and was brown in color. The
brown color is the actual color of the copper because there is no photo-resist coating to
protect the surface. The developed PCB board was rinsed with running water after
developing.

3.1.7 Etching
Ferric chloride was used to etch away copper surface on the PCB board. A strong
concentration of the ferric chloride enables the etching process to be faster. The
composition for the mixture of water to the acid was 3:1. The speed of the chemical
reaction between the etching solution and the PCB was increased by warming the
etching solution. The PCB was immersed into the solution and plastic gloves were used
to handle for the handling process. The PCB was agitated in the etching solution until
the unwanted copper was removed. The last stage was the removal of the photo-resist
mask using sodium hydroxide. A stronger solution was used because the etching was
complete. The PCB board was rinsed with water and cleaned and dried.

3.1.8 Cutting and drilling

The PCB holes were drilled using an electric drill. A 1mm drill bit was used for drilling
process. The dimensions of the board were marked out using a try square. After marking
the required board size, the board was then trimmed to the required board dimensions.

3.1.9 Circuit maker

Simulation is the use of a computer program to test the behavior of a circuit. Such
programs take the schematic as input and then display the operation of the circuit in
numerous ways. Computer simulation of electronic circuits has been available for years,
and has proven to be accurate and effective. This can be done by such packages as
Electronic Workbench, Circuit maker and others. In the design of various modules of

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the system, Circuit maker was used to simulate the circuits. When designing circuits, it
is always advisable to test the circuits using computer simulation before proceeding
with bread boarding. This is because simulation is much faster than building them in a lab,
and wiring mistakes are minimized. The software is safe to use alone, and the
components never breakdown. One can quickly determine if the circuit behaves as
planned. Uncertainties can be resolved immediately. However, simulation does not
replace bread boarding.

3.2 Breadboard
After simulation and establishing that the circuit was functional, the circuit was
tested on a breadboard. A breadboard provides a means for testing the circuit without
wiring it permanently on a board. It is easy to modify as the components are not
soldered onto the board. It is good for simulation but cannot be used for the final
prototype.

3.2.1 Soldering
All components were soldered onto the Vero board using a soldering gun and
soldering wire. Population is defined as the process of mounting components on the
board. This is followed by soldering the components on the board. This most common
method is by means of soft solders in wire form. In populating the Vero board, soft
solders were used because they are readily available at low cost. They also offer an
excellent combination of electrical and mechanical properties. The first stage was
heating the metal parts to be joined using a soldering iron. Solder does not stick to
unheated surfaces. Solder was the applied so that it melts to form a bond. After
making a soldered joint, a cutter was used each time to remove unnecessary
extensions until the Vero was completely populated.

3.2.2 Arduino
The software program was written using Assembly Language Programming only.

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3.2.3 Coding
Software development all begins with coding. The source code for a
microcontroller can be written in assembly language or in a high level language such
as C. For this system, assembly language programming was used because of the
presence of the ATMega integrated development environment called Arduino. A
typical assembly language program will consist of some assembler directives, sub -
routines if they are needed and the main program code.

Assembler directives are a collection of commands that tell the assembler such things as
the type of microcontroller being used, its clock speed, etc. They also allow names to be
used for memory locations, ports and registers, so making the program more readable.

3.2.4 Assembling
A l t e r w r i t i n g the code, the program was assembled using an assembler in MPLAB. A
task of the assembler is to ensure that the program is written using the correct syntax (i.e.
i t conforms to the spelling and format required by the assembler). A program can be
syntactically correct but meaningless in the sense that it does not do anything useful or
achieve the desired effect. It could also still have what are called logical errors.

3.2.5. Debugging
The next step was to execute the program and see if it did what was required, and if not,
modify it so, that it worked as required. This process is known as debugging. Debugging took
up more time than the actual writing of the original program source code. They are a
number of ways in which a program can be debugged. Debugging can be done through
simulation.

3.2.6 Programming
After debugging the program, the object code was then transferred into the target
microcontroller by placing the target microcontroller into the zero insertion force socket of
the programmer. This transfer is what is referred to as programming.

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3.2.7 Methodology Summary

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT

Simulation of Testing and

Hadware assembly

PCB Layout Component

Population

Artwork Cutting and

Hole Drilling

Transfer of
Artwork PCB Etching

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#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
char inchar
SoftwareSerial SIM900(7, 8)

int led1 = 10;

int led2 = 11;
int led3 = 12;
int led4 = 13;

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(led1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(led2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(led3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(led4, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(led1, LOW);

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digitalWrite(led2, LOW);
digitalWrite(led3, LOW);
digitalWrite(led4, LOW);

SIM900power()
SIM900.begin(9600);
delay(2000);
SIM900.print("AT+CMGF=1\r");
delay(100);
Serial.println("Ready...");
}

void loop()
{
if(SIM900.available() >0);
{
inchar=SIM900.read();
if(inchar=='#')
{
delay(10);

inchar=SIM900.read();
if(inchar=='a');
{
delay(10);

inchar=SIM900.read();
if(inchar=='0')
{
digitalWrite(led1, LOW);
}

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else if (inchar=='1')
{
digitalWrite(led1, HIGH);
}
delay(10);
inchar=SIM900.read();
if (inchar=='b');
{
inchar=SIM900.read();
if (inchar=='0')
{
digitalWrite(led2, LOW);
}
else if (inchar=='1')
{
digitalWrite(led2, HIGH);
}
delay(10);
inchar=SIM900.read();
if (inchar=='c')
{
inchar=SIM900.read();
if (inchar=='0')
{
digitalWrite(led3, LOW);
}
else if (inchar=='1'){digitalWrite (led3, HIGH);
}
delay(10);
inchar=SIN900.read();
if (inchar=='d')

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{
delay(10);
inchar=SIM900.read();
if (inchar='0')
{
digitalWrite(led4, LOW);
}
else if (inchar=='1')
{
digitalWrite(led4, HIGH);
}
delay(10);
}
}
SIM900.println("AT+CMGD=1,4");
}
}
}
}
}

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3.3 HOW THE PROJECT WORKS

The circuit breaker monitor and controller is designed to give the status of a circuit breaker
to a remote user mobile handset. Commands to close or open the circuit can be sent from
the user mobile handset to the circuit breaker module. The system checks for either an
over voltage or an open circuit breaker and sends the message to the user mobile handset.
To monitor and report circuit breaker failure, a normally closed auxiliary switch is installed
which is open as long as the circuit breaker is closed. When the circuit breaker opens, the
auxiliary switch closes thereby sending a signal to the microcontroller, by making an input
pi HIGH . The i ro o troller progra is desig ed to ait for 5 se o ds efore it a
i terpret the HIGH sig al as a true CB trip. This gi es ti e to the ir uit reaker auto
reclosing relay to finish its operations and then lock out if it perceives the fault to be
permanent. A text message signal is then sent from the microcontroller through the
Transmit pin to the Receive pin of the GSM modem which will then transmit the text
message to the user mobile handset. The same applies to the overvoltage sensed by the
microcontroller. Voltage component to the microcontroller is taken from a bus bar voltage
transformer (VT) which has an output of 110 volts AC this is then further transformed to 5V
rectified and smoothed to DC this DC current is then fed to the microcontroller analog input
and any variations from the set input will be reported as a text message to the user mobile
handset

To close the circuit breaker from a mobile handset command, the microcontroller is
programmed to respond to certain characters form the mobile phone. An example of the
code;

int pin1 = 10

void setup()

if(SIM900.available() >0)

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inchar=SIM900.read();

If i har= lose CB 9

Delay(10);

inchar= SIM900.read ();

If i har==

digitalWrite(pin1, HIGH)

In the code pin1 has been assigned to terminal 10 on the microcontroller. When a
parti ular te t hi h reads lose CB 9 is re ei ed the i ro o troller the output pi
(terminal 10) will digitalWrite HIGH . This pi is o e ted to a V rela through a
transistor switch. The relay then closes and will energize a 60V DC closing coil on the CB.

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CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS, RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Switch
A switch is an electrical device that can open and close a circuit. A switch may be directly
manipulated by a human being as a control signal to a system, such as a computer keyboard
switch or to control power flow in a circuit. Automatic operated switches can be used to
control circuits for example this 33kv circuit breaker.

4.2 Relays
A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a
switching mechanism but other operating principles are also used. Relay are used where it is
necessary to control a circuit by a power signal or where circuit must be controlled by one
signal. The first relays were used in long distance telegraphic circuit. In this project a relay
that can handle high power was used to directly control an electric load. Relays with
calibrated operating characteristics and sometimes multiple coils are used to protect
electrical circuits from overload and, faults.

For protective relays to perform their function satisfactorily they should have the following
qualities:

1. selectivity- to detect only the faulty session

11. simplicity- to be easily maintained

111. speed- to respond to fault as quickly as possible

1 v. reliability- to work only under pre-determined conditions

In this 33kv Circuit Breaker control and monitoring project, a simple electromagnetic relay
consisting of a coil of wire wrapped around a soft iron core, an iron yoke which provides a low
reluctance path for magnetic flux, a movable iron armature and two sets of contacts.

When an electric current is passed through the coil it generates a magnetic field that

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activates the armature and the consequent movement of the movable contacts either
makes or breaks a connection with a fixed contact, opening and closing the circuit.

4.6 ATMega328 Microcontroller

28-Pin PDIP

The microcontroller will form the core of the system as it will be responsible for co-
ordination, computations, displays and user interface management including storage of
events.

RESULTS
The system managed to monitor circuit breaker status by sending text messages to the user
in case of abnormal conditions on the system. However there where some delays in
receiving the text message which I attribute to poor network. Commands where sent from
the mobile phone and the microcontroller managed to close the relay to the CB close coil.
Again similar transmission delays where observed. The program worked according to plan
and all components responded to the commands. The GSM module responded well when

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connected to a 2V 5amp supply. The GSM antennae had to be set in a particular position so
that the modem could read the SIM card network. A careful choice is to be made when
selecting networks to use. Different networks are suitable for different areas. It could be
noted though that the GSM module responded faster in areas of less data traffic, like the
rural areas. This makes GSM substation automation suitable for those remote areas. The
program is to be modified to close the relay for say 5seconds and then release, or de
energize. This is e ause ir uit reaker lose oils are ot o ti uous urre t rated. It
means that if the coil sustains current for more than 10 seconds, it will be damaged. Once
the circuit breaker is closed, the relay has to release.

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Quantity Part description Cost Supplier

1 GSM module $22.00 Kenyon Stamps

1 IC, ATmega 328P $15.00

1 28 pin IC holder $0.50

1 Crystal 16MHz $3.00

2 22Pf Capacitors $4.00

4 12 V relays $6.00

4 1n4004 diodes $2.00

7 terminal block connectors $1.00

10 Resistors $5.00

4 BC141 transistors

2 10uF Capacitors $2.00

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CONCLUSION

The 33kv Circuit Breaker monitoring and control module has been designed to help man
reduce the stress and loss of time associated with the outages of supply due to temporary
faults and over voltages
The various tests carried out and the result obtained demonstrated that the 33kv Circuit
Breaker monitoring and control module achieved its design and construction aims. The
system worked accordingly to specification and quite satisfactorily. The module is relatively
affordable and reliable since it is easy to operate. It is worthy to note that this project is
subject to scrutiny and further development. With finances allowing, in my future
development I will add an overcurrent and earth fault monitoring system. I also recommend
this project to be in cooperated entirely in all ZETDC rural setup were long distances are
involved from Depots to sub stations. To the school, I recommend they encourage future
students to work on developing this project.

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REFERENCES

Shephard, J. Morton, A.H. and Spence, L.F. Higher Electrical Engineering

Mehta. Electrical power systems (Relays)

Theraja, B.L. and Theraja, A.K. (1995). Electrical Technology, Delhi: Publication of Ram
Naogar.

H J. Pain Electromagnetic induction 3rd edition 1985

London: Frederick Muller. Electrical theory. OCLC 467723.

http:l/en.wikipedialorglwiki/protection.
http:l/www.nema. org/engineering/icsstandards.html
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