EMRP-ENG04: Metrology for Smart Electrical Grids

• Forschungsstelle: METAS
• Projektnummer: F-5213.30000
• Projekttitel Englisch: EMRP-ENG04: Metrology for Smart Electrical Grids

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

Metrology, electrical energy, smart electrical grids, phasor measurement unit, power quality, grid stability, power measurement

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

Conventional centralized grids can be thought of as passive one-way bulk energy systems whereas the Smart Grid systems are active systems consisting of multiple bi-directional energy clients. These distributed systems are highly complex, difficult to optimize and vulnerable to instability. This leads to a paradigm shift in the instrumentation and control requirements for Smart Grids, such that stable high quality electricity supply can be assured.

Successful implementation of a Smart Electrical Grid requires the development of a metrological measurement infrastructure. This project is a JRP (Joint Research Project) within the EMRP (European Metrology Research Program) framework. A complete description of the project can be found at http://www.euramet.org/index.php?id=a169jrps. This project will address some of the issues: modeling grid stability, phasor measurement units (PMU), on site power quality and energy measurement. METAS will be involved with PMUs as well as with field testing.

This project is part of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP, http://www.euramet.org/index.php?id=emrp); it is partly funded by the European Union on the basis of Decision No 912/2009/EC.

Projektziele (Englisch)

METAS will focus on the development of a test facility permitting the characterization of phasor measurement units (PMU).The objectives of the work package 1 (WP1) that METAS will be leading are:

• Development of a computer platform of a PMU in order to compare various PMU algorithms
• Development of a reference PMU that can be used for field and laboratory measurements Development of a laboratory calibrator for PMUs
• Development of standardised tests and calibration methods for PMUs
• Performance of laboratory and field measurements with PMUs

METAS will also participate in the WP4, although at a lesser extent than with PMUs. The objectives of WP4 are:

• Modelling, simulation and network analysis for optimised design and control strategies for future Smart Grids
• Application and validation of the Smart Grid model using experimental and existing LV grid
• Development of a metrology-grade calibration system for current transformers intended to measure polluted grid currents
• Development of a cryptographic infrastructure for grid control.

Abstract (Englisch)

The original motivation of this project was to establish a PMU infrastructure similar to the one developed at NIST. The 2003 black out in the USA had demonstrated the need for a large deployment on PMUs as well as a need to establish a testing and certification process. The workpackage 1 of this project aimed to develop both the expertise and the measurement infrastructure for PMUs in Europe. METAS undertook the task of developing a PMU calibrator.
The design and implementation of the PMU calibrator is now complete and operational. However, its capabilities are presently limited to the static tests outlined in the standard IEEE C37.118.1-2011. The dynamic tests were only included in the standard after the beginning of the project. As their implementation is much more demanding, it was decided to leave them for a follow up project.
One of the key feature is this calibrator is the high degree of automation built in the system. This allows the completion of the static test on a PMU in a few hours. The calibrator meets all the specifications set by the IEEE standard. Improvements are planned for the follow up pro-ject as an anticipation of future PMUs to be used in distribution networks.

Umsetzung und Anwendungen (Englisch)

With the PMU infrastructure in place, METAS can now calibrate PMUs for the static tests outlined in the standard IEEE C37.118.1. The calibration of a commercial PMU (Arbiter 1133A) allowed identifying the cause of some measurements errors that were reported in a power network in the USA (reported by the manufacturer). More measurements with other commercial products will be made in order to gain broader experience.

Publikationen / Ergebnisse (Englisch)

J.-P. Braun and C. Mester, “Reference grade calibrator for the testing of the dynamic behavior of phasor measurement units,” in Proceedings 2012 Conference on Precision electromagnetic Measurements, 2012, pp. 410–411.

U. Pogliano, J.-P. Braun, B. Volj, and R. Lapuh, “Software platform for PMU algorithms testing,” in Proceedings 2012 Conference on Precision electromagnetic Measurements, 2012, pp. 412–413.

G. Rietveld, J.-P. Braun, P. S. Wright, and N. Zisky, “Realization of a smart grid metrology infrastructure in Europe,” in Proceedings 2012 Conference on Precision electromagnetic Measurements, 2012, pp. 408–409.