Evaluating the Arc-Flash Protection Benefits of IEC 61850 Communication

Evaluating the Arc-Flash
Protection Benefits of IEC 61850
Communication
by Anssi Jäntti, Olavi Vähämäki, and Juha Rintala of Schneider Electric
and Lauri Kumpulainen and Kimmo Kauhaniemi of the University of Vaasa, Finland
998-2095-01-30-15AR0
Executive summary
The goal of arc-flash protection is to minimize the
damaging effects of released energy, which requires
very fast and reliable communication among protection
system components. In addition to discussing
communication requirements and options for sensors,
current transformers, relays, circuit breakers, and
upper level control systems, this paper introduces and
evaluates the benefits and drawbacks of new IEC
61850-based communication options.

Evaluating the Arc-Flash Protection Benefits of IEC 61850 Communication
Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 2
Arcing faults in switchgear are rare events but their consequences can be severe.
Characterized as electrical explosions, the radiation, heat, pressure waves, and flying
particles associated with an arc flash can injure or kill personnel. These impacts can also
destroy systems components, ruin switchgear, and trigger process outages that result in
unanticipated expense.
Due to the explosive nature of arcing faults, traditional overcurrent protection is often
ineffective. A number of published articles in scientific publications discuss advanced
methods for addressing these issues.1 2
The IEEE, for instance discusses the concept of incident energy (IE), which they define as
the amount of energy impressed on a surface, a certain distance from the source, generated
during an electrical arc event.3
Incident energy calculations were developed for defining arc-
flash protection boundaries and for the development of protection strategies.
These calculations can also be applied when comparing different protection approaches. IE
levels can be calculated using parameters of voltage level, working distance, bolted fault
short-circuit current, and arcing time. The key parameter to influence is that of arcing time,
i.e., the time required for protection to operate.
In traditional, relay-based protection, arcing time consists of arc detection time, the protection
relay’s operation time, the operation time of the device that extinguishes the arc, and the
communication delay between components. Either a circuit breaker (CB), fuse, or a short-
circuit device extinguishes the arc (see Figure 1, scenario 1). Protection based on the
simultaneous detection of overcurrent and light provides extremely fast operation (see Figure
1, scenario 2). When applying this protection approach, the dominant component of the
arcing time is the operation time of the circuit breaker (with that being some tens of
milliseconds). On the other hand, as can be seen in Figure 1, relay time is dominant in
traditional overcurrent protection.
1
J.A. Kay, J. Arvola, L. Kumpulainen, Protecting at the Speed of Light. IEEE Industry Applications
Magazine, May/June 2011. pp. 12-18
2
D. Shipp, D. Wood, “Mitigating Arc-Flash Exposure”, IEEE Industry Applications Magazine, July/August
2011, pp. 28-37
3
IEEE Std 1584™-2002, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations, IEEE, 2002.
Introduction
Figure 1
The composition of arcing
time in light- and overcurrent-
based protection compared to
traditional overcurrent
protection
Relay Time
Circuit breaker
time
Relay time
Scenario 1: Fast, conventional overcurrent protection
Scenario 2: Light and overcurrent‐based protection
Circuit breaker
time

Arcing time of only a few milliseconds can be achieved by using a short-circuit device. When
detecting an arcing fault via simultaneous light and overcurrent detection, the arc protection
system sends a trip command to both the very fast short-circuit device and the appropriate
circuit breaker. The short-circuit device then creates an intentional short circuit and
extinguishes the arc within a few milliseconds by eliminating the voltage. Meanwhile, the
circuit-breaker begins to operate and breaks the current after some tens of milliseconds.
Short-circuit devices are not applied on a regular basis today, but are receiving increased
interest.
Pre-emptive protection is another approach that is under development. This approach
employs on-line monitoring to sense early signs of slowly developing faults. In medium
voltage systems, partial discharge (PD) detection can efficiently discover early signs of
isolation deterioration. However, one cannot apply the PD approach in low voltage systems,
though thermal sensors have proven to be an effective means of detecting potential arc fault
causes such as loose contacts.4
Communication between various protection system components is an essential element of all
the aforementioned arc-flash protection approaches. Communication to an upper-level control
system is also required. This paper reviews communication options and compares a
traditional system to a new, IEC 61850-based approach.
Fast light detection
Fault arc detection times can be as short as 0.5-2ms. Testing reveals a strong correlation
between arc power and the intensity of observed light.5
As a result, an arc can be detected
almost immediately via a light-sensitive sensor such as photodiode (a point type of sensor) or
optical fiber (a loop type of sensor). No precise, universal threshold value yet exists that can
always differentiate between light emanating from arcing faults and light derived from other
sources. However, practical experience concludes that a sensitivity of approximately 10,000
lux gives excellent results. Sensors with this level of sensitivity are likely to detect the light in
all relevant arc fault situations involving metal-enclosed switchgear. At the same time, they
maintain a low risk of false activation. This is especially true in cases where arc detection
accompanies overcurrent detection.
Fast overcurrent detection
To eliminate possible nuisance tripping caused by external light, a current condition (i.e.,
detection of overcurrent) is often required in parallel with light detection. Normal current
transformers can measure the current. In arc-flash protection applications, however,
operation times must be minimized. Special methods can rapidly detect overcurrent. At the
International Conference on Electricity Distribution (CIRED conference)6
an algorithm was
described that employs instantaneous sampled current values, and 1 ms detection times in
three-phase faults were demonstrated. An IEEE publication has described an approach that
takes advantage of current waveform discontinuity (change in di/dt) to achieve very fast
overcurrent detection.7
Applying an analog comparator can also enable fast overcurrent
detection.
4
H. B. Land, III, C.L. Eddins, L. R. Gauthier, Jr., J. M. Klimek, Design of a Sensor to Predict Arcing
Faults in Nuclear Switchgear. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 50, Issue 4, 2003, pp. 1161-
1165
5
B. Melouki, M. Lieutier, A. Lefort, The correlation between luminous and electric arc characteristics.
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 29, Number 11, 1996, pp. 2907-2914
6
M. Öhrström, L. Söder, H. Breder, Fast fault detection for peak current limitation based on few
samples. Proceedings of CIRED 2003, Barcelona, 12-15 May, 2003
7
R. Garzon, The Arc Terminator, IEEE Industry Applications Magazine, Vol. 9, Issue 3, 2003, pp. 51-55
Simultaneous
light and
overcurrent
detection

Because many arcing faults start as single-phase faults, phase-to-earth fault detection is also
justified. If an arc is detected and eliminated before it escalates into a high-power, three-
phase fault, the damage is less.
How to avoid nuisance tripping caused by switching arcs
In almost all cases, in both medium (MV) and low voltage (LV) systems, the trip condition of
simultaneous light and overcurrent detection is a proven success. However, some low
voltage circuit breakers (air-magnetic types) emit light while operating. Use of a special type
of light sensor (which is less sensitive or designed for a limited wavelength range) or applying
pressure sensors can mitigate this problem.
Existing system architecture
This section describes the operating principles of a state-of-the-art arc-flash protection
system. Other systems operate under similar principles. Although its basic functionality is
fairly simple, the complete arc-flash protection system consists of several components.
Providing selective protection by dividing installations into individual protection zones is a key
approach. Figure 2 illustrates a rather complicated design with different parts of the
installation marked as different protection zones. The arc-flash protection system mainly
comprises the following four types of components:
 Sensors (light or current)
 I/O units
 Central units
 Communication cables
The system requires additional components (e.g., a battery-backed auxiliary power supply
system) but these are omitted for the sake of simplicity.
Figure 2
An example of a dedicated
arc-flash protection system
for an MV substation
Dedicated arc-
flash protection
system
communication
approach

On the left side of Figure 2, point sensors detect light. On the right side, the installation is
equipped with fiber optic sensors. I/O units read the sensors and send sensor information to
the common communication pathway. The point sensors connect to I/O units in Zone 2 (A)
and fibers connect to an I/O unit in Zone 3 (B). I/O units can perform a local trip based on
information from the sensors connected to the I/O device itself, or based on a signal from any
other I/O unit in the same zone. All light sensors connected to one I/O unit can only belong to
one particular zone. Five zones are available, one of which is always reserved for transferring
overcurrent information.
Current can be measured by current transformers connected either directly to the arc-flash
protection central unit (C) or to a current I/O unit (D). All units are linked to the central unit by
the communication cables (E). Circuit breakers receive trip commands from the central unit or
from the I/O units via circuit breaker wiring (F).
The system architecture is centralized and the central unit is always required. The central unit
monitors the system (self-supervision) and maintains communication. It can also perform trips
based on the light sensors connected to the central unit itself or based on the information
received from the I/O units. In addition, the central unit can communicate with SCADA
systems by using various standard protocols.
Dedicated arc-flash protection system communication
I/O units are linked to the central unit with modular cables. Each I/O unit and the central unit
have two modular cable connectors. Therefore, if one wants to connect more than two I/O
units to the system, they must be daisy-chained. That means that only line topology is
supported. To be precise, the devices do not actually act as repeaters by reading the
information received from the communication pathway and then passing it on to the next
device. The topology actually is not a line, but a bus. Figure 3 illustrates these two different
network topologies among other common ones.
A major advantage of using a bus topology is that the devices do not have to act as
repeaters. This approach supports very fast communication, as adding new devices to the
network does not slow communication.
Figure 3
Commonly used network
topologies

Two somewhat independent communication pathways are utilized when communicating
between I/O units and the central units. Both reside inside the same modular cable but utilize
different wires. The first of these communication pathways is a simple, fast, infinitely
repeating frame, only a few bits long, containing zone-based activation information. Each of
the devices in the network can use this to report activation (i.e., detected light or current) in
any of the available zones. The second communication pathway is slower communication
used during, for example, installation, querying sensor status, or releasing latches. Both of
these communication types are proprietary and nonstandard. Also, both of these
communication types are controlled by a central unit. There is no communication through the
modular cable between the I/O units without the central unit being present and operational.
These proprietary communication pathways are also designed for relatively short-range
communication.
Power supply to I/O units
In addition to communication, the modular cable is used to supply power to the I/O units from
the central unit. An external power supply is required after a certain amount of cabling or
number of I/O units. When connected to an external power supply, an I/O unit can further
distribute power to the surrounding I/O units through the modular cable.
Proprietary communication system limitations
Experiences with the communication system described previously have been positive.
Regarding speed and reliability, performance is excellent. However, this system has some
limitations. The system is nonstandard and designed for relatively short-range
communication; the maximum length of total cabling is about 100m. The topology of the
network must always be a bus, and this poses further limitations. The maximum number of
zones is five, and the proprietary communication protocol does not provide a convenient way
of increasing this. Furthermore, in certain installations, it would be advantageous to configure
the sensors in a single device to reside in more than one zone.
Communication system performance
A series of tests were conducted in order to determine the performance of the communication
system described above. Several configurations were constructed using key components;
light sensors, I/O units, and a central unit. Several I/O units were always present in each of
the different configurations in order to simulate actual installations.
Ten sensors were connected to each of the I/O units in the case of point type sensors and
one sensor in the case of fiber type sensors. Regarding the point sensors, a total of 10
sensors were always activated simultaneously, simulating the worst case in an actual
installation. A piece of sheet metal was used to fasten the sensors as close to each other as
possible in order to ensure that they would activate at the same time. A professional-grade
camera flash was used to activate the sensors.
As mentioned, the units had to be daisy-chained with the modular cable. Different types and
lengths of cables were used during the testing. In these tests, only modular cable was used
to link the I/O units to each other and to the central unit. The central unit was always
positioned at one end of the bus and the I/O unit with the activated sensor at the opposite
end. No additional power wiring or power supplies were used. Figure 4 illustrates one of the
test installations.
In order to evaluate performance, system reaction time (time from light detection to trip) was
measured. This was achieved by using an oscilloscope to measure the trip times of both the
central unit and the I/O unit on which the sensors were activated. Trip times were measured
from the point of the sensors activating on the last I/O unit to the output relay contacts closing

on both the central unit and on the I/O unit itself. The relays in the devices were configured to
latch on light detection.
A four-channel oscilloscope was used to perform the measurements. The first channel of the
oscilloscope was connected to one of the activated light sensors. The second channel was
used to measure the operating voltage of the last I/O unit in the chain during trip/light
detection. The third channel was connected to the output relay of the last I/O unit, and the
fourth channel was connected to the output relay on the central unit.
The oscilloscope Delta Time feature was used to measure trip delays. Channel 1 rising edge
and channel 3 and 4 falling edges were used as the signal sources. Trip delay measurements
were performed 10 times for each test case. An example is illustrated in Figure 5.
Figure 4
Configuration of test case #2,
shown as an example
Figure 5
Oscilloscope with the voltage
and Delta Time
measurements

The following cable lengths were used during testing: 2 meters, 15 meters, and 30 meters. In
situations where different cables lengths were used in one test, the longest cable was always
connected between the master and the first I/O unit because this is the worst case. The
following combinations were tested:
1. Five point type sensor units, five 2m cables
2. Four point type sensor units, one 15m cable, three 2m cables
3. Three point type sensor units, one 30m cable, two 2m cables
4. Five fiber type sensor units, five 2m cables
5. Four fiber type sensor units, one 15m cable, three 2m cables
6. Three fiber type sensor units, one 30m cable, two 2m cables
7. Four point type sensor units, one current sensor unit, five 2m cables
8. Three point type sensor units, one current sensor unit, one 15m cable, three 2m
cables
9. Two point type sensor units, one current sensor unit, one 30m cable, two 2m cables
Ten measurements were performed for each of the nine test cases. Table 1 lists the mean,
minimum, and maximum trip times of these tests. The measurements were taken from the
mechanical output relays, so the delay caused by the relays is included in the measurements.
Use of high-speed semiconductor/hybrid outputs would have produced better results.
The results show that fiber type sensors are slightly faster than point type sensors. The tests
also show that a slight variation of the I/O units’ trip times exists depending on the
configuration. Based on the results, it can be determined that with point type sensors, the
average trip time for the central unit is about 6.29ms. The average trip time for the I/O unit is
about 10.61ms. With fiber sensors, the respective trip times are 4.75ms and 7.79ms.
Central unit trip time (ms) I/O unit trip time (ms)
Test case # Mean Min Max Mean Min Max
1 6.32 6.2 6.41 10.73 10.23 11.05
2 6.28 6.08 6.46 10.37 9.81 10.75
3 6.28 6.15 6.42 11.16 10.85 11.37
4 4.7 4.62 4.79 7.68 7.53 7.96
5 4.75 4.64 4.88 7.82 7.6 8.28
6 4.81 4.47 4.88 7.86 7.74 8.39
7 6.19 6.07 6.38 10.34 9.82 10.56
8 6.27 6.03 6.45 10.05 9.58 10.58
9 6.37 6.12 6.61 11.01 10.78 11.13
Table 1
Mean, minimum, and
maximum trip times in the
tests

Ethernet-based communications in general and IEC 61850-based technology in particular are
rarely applied in arc-flash protection systems. However, zone-selective interlocking (ZSI) is a
common application closely related to arc-flash protection. In ZSI, IEC 61850 and Generic
Object Oriented Substation Events (GOOSE) have successfully been utilized,8
but ZSI is
slower than light/overcurrent-based arc-flash protection.9
GOOSE messages are limited to relay-to-relay communications in light/overcurrent-based
arc-flash protection systems.10
GOOSE messaging can also be applied for communication
between other components of arc-flash protection systems: sensors, input/output units,
relays, and circuit breakers. The essential question is whether GOOSE can provide the
required speed and reliability.
In order to avoid delays caused by network traffic, virtual local area networks (VLAN) are
used to separate priority and non-priority traffic on the network.11 12
Another means to
enable very fast communication is to utilize high-speed fiber media for networking the
devices.13 14
Previous studies have shown that the speed of GOOSE-based communication
is as good as direct serial communication.12
Principles of an IEC 61850/GOOSE arc-flash protection system
approach
An IEC 61850/GOOSE-based arc-flash protection system shares the same four basic
components as the proprietary system previously described: sensors, I/O units, central units,
and cables. In this scenario, however, the central unit is an optional component. The system
architecture is distributed instead of centralized, and the system can operate perfectly without
the central unit. This makes the system more robust. The central unit can, however, still serve
as a centralized information collection and communication device that can be used as a
gateway for relaying information to SCADA systems, for example.
The proprietary system differentiates between the arc-flash protection network and the upper-
level communication network (e.g., connection to SCADA) in two ways. First, the protocol in
the arc-flash protection communication is proprietary. It also has separate physical
connectors for the different networks. This is an important factor for improving an
installation’s cybersecurity. The same kind of security can also be achieved when using an
IEC 61850-based approach by having two separate processors, two independent network
stacks, and two physically different Ethernet connectors for the different networks.
The concept of zones still exists in the new system. However, the zone settings in this system
do not need to be configured at the I/O unit level. They can also be set at the sensor level.
8
J. Holbach, Mitigation of Arc Flash hazard by using Protection solution, 60th Annual Conference for
Protective Relay Engineers, IEEE, 2007. pp. 239-250
9
C. Cabrera, S. Chiu, N.K.C. Nair, Implementation of Arc-Flash Protection Using IEC 61850 Goose
Messaging. Conference Record of IEEE International Conference on Power System Technology
(POWERCON), 2012, pp. 1-6
10
G. Rocha, E. Zanirato, F. Ayello, R. Taninaga, Arc-Flash Protection for Low- and Medium-Voltage
Panels. Paper No. PCIC-2011-25, IEEE Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee Technical
Conference, Toronto, 19-21 Sept. 2011
11
L. Sevov, T.W. Zhao, I. Voloh, The Power of IEC 61850. IEEE Industry Applications Magazine,
Jan/Feb 2013. pp. 60-67
12
F. Dixon, M.T. Yunas, V. Wedelich, J. Howard, H.E. Brown, S.N. Sauer, Y. Xu, T. Markello, W,
Sheikh, Mitigating Arc Flashes Using IEC 61850. IEEE Industry Applications Magazine, Jan/Feb 2014.
pp. 64-69
13
L. Kumpulainen, O. Vähämäki, T. Harju, A. Jäntti, Enhancement of Arc-Flash Protection by IEC
61850. Conference proceedings of PAC World 2012, Budapest, 25-28 June 2012
14
D.C. Mazur, J.A. Kay, J.H. Kreiter, Benefits of IEC 61850 Standard for Power Monitoring and
Management Systems in Forest Product Industries. Conference Record of IEEE Pulp and Paper
Industry Technical Conference, 2013, pp. 69-75
IEC 61850
communication
in arc-flash
protection
systems

Each of the sensors can be individually configured to transmit activations of any zone, and
one sensor can even belong to multiple zones. This is true for both light and current sensors.
The number of the zones can be as high as 16. The same zone can contain either light and
current sensors or just one type of sensor. This provides more flexibility for configuration.
Diversity of usable network topologies
The IEC 61850/GOOSE system also uses modular cables. Each I/O unit has two modular
cable connectors as does the proprietary approach, but uses IEC 61850 and GOOSE
communication, which operate over Ethernet. Because communication is Ethernet based, all
topologies supported by Ethernet are also supported by the new arc-flash protection system.
This includes line, star, tree, and mixed or hybrid topologies. Looped connections are not
supported by standard Ethernet, but new I/O units are equipped with special hardware that
can accommodate ring networks.
Power supply
The new system again uses a somewhat similar approach to the previous one; the central
unit can supply power to the I/O units by using a technology sometimes referred to as
“Passive PoE.” This can be described as a somewhat simplified version of the standard PoE
(Power over Ethernet). Some manufacturers have already chosen to support this simplified
version in their products. Limitations imposed by the actual PoE standard15
make
implementation impossible in daisy-chained devices, for example. Limitations still exist
regarding the length of cabling and number of I/O units that the central unit can supply. In
these cases, the I/O units can again be equipped with external power supplies. In future
implementations, separate devices will be able to supply extra power to devices through
modular cables.
Communication
In the IEC 61850/GOOSE system, two distinct types of communication pathways exist: 1. fast
communication for relaying zone information, and 2. lower priority control and configuration
communication pathway. The fast communication is implemented with GOOSE messages
over Ethernet. One advantage of this is that the protocol is standardized. GOOSE protocol
also already implements many features that are useful for arc-flash protection devices. For
example, GOOSE messages are broadcast messages, which support distributed architecture.
GOOSE messages are also constantly repeated and this can be used to keep a count of the
devices present in the network. The GOOSE protocol is also relatively simple. It can be fairly
easily implemented on embedded devices while retaining good performance regarding time
constraints.
When comparing the previously described proprietary communication pathway to GOOSE
messages, the latter has considerably higher overhead in the amount of transferred data and
the amount of time taken to process the communication. This is a natural result of GOOSE
being a more universal way of communicating, while the proprietary system was designed
specifically for the application at hand. However, as considerable communication overhead
already exists from using GOOSE messages and Ethernet, including additional payload
information to the communication frames, there is not a major relative increase in
transmission or processing times. It therefore makes sense to transfer other useful
information in the messages in addition to only the zone information. The same frames
contain, for example, information about the activated sensors and detected errors.
The GOOSE protocol does not support the transferring of, for example, configuration
information. Other parts of the IEC 61850 standard could be used for these purposes.
15
IEEE Standard for Ethernet. IEEE Std 802.3-2012

However, such an approach represents heavy workloads for small CPUs and is difficult to
implement. To address this issue, a proprietary GOOSE-based protocol was developed.
A major advantage of Ethernet is that connections are limited to 100m only for each link, and
the range can easily be extended with Ethernet switches. Each of the I/O units in the new
system has a built-in switch so the distance between each unit can be up to 100m. There is
no theoretical limit to the maximum length of total cabling. A drawback to this approach is that
each additional hop causes message delays.
Performance of the developed system
As with the traditional arc-flash protection system described earlier in this paper, the
performance (i.e., trip time) of the IEC 61850/GOOSE system was also tested. The tests
were conducted using four prototype devices. A point type arc sensor was connected to one
of the devices, with 0.5m cables used to link the devices. Line topology was used and power
to the devices was provided by using a commercially available Passive PoE-capable Ethernet
switch. The devices were configured so that sensor activation on one of the devices would
cause output to be activated on all devices in the network. As this system does not require a
central unit, these tests were conducted without one. Figure 6 illustrates the system used for
testing.
An oscilloscope was again used to take measurements. The first channel of the oscilloscope
was connected to the same sensor input as the point type arc sensor. The second channel
was connected to the transistor controlling an output relay on each device. Measurements
were repeated 10 times. A two-channel oscilloscope was used and the measurements were
then also repeated four times, while always moving the second oscilloscope channel to the
output of another device.
Table 2 lists the results of the testing. The first column indicates the test number. The second
column is the time from the first device’s arc sensor input activation to the same device’s
output relay control signal activation. The third column is from the first device’s arc sensor
input activation to the second device’s output signal activation and so on. Measurements are
expressed in µs.
Figure 6
Configuration of the GOOSE-
based arc-flash protection
system test setup

The results show that the average time for a local trip is 53µs and the transfer time from one
device to another is 147µs. Also, based on the results, it can be determined that each hop
seems to create an additional 15.5µs delay.
.
These results cannot be directly compared to the results of the tests conducted on the
traditional system (see Table 1). The measurements of the previous tests took into account
the operating delay of the mechanical relay contacts, whereas these measurements were
taken directly from the transistor controlling the relay. However, comparing the results
demonstrates the fundamental difference in these approaches: In the previously described
system, adding more devices does not directly affect the operational delay. With the
Ethernet-based system, each additional hop slightly increases operation time. This can be
mitigated by using different kinds of network topology that minimize the amount of hops in
the network.
Test # Device 1->1 Device 1->2 Device 1->3 Device 1->4
1 32.8 116 138 172
2 40 160 158 174
3 58.4 136 156 148
4 32.8 156 150 184
5 106.4 180 138 172
6 40.8 159 162 170
7 97.6 128 168 214
8 25.8 156 162 168
9 39.2 120 178 184
10 58.4 102 118 174
11 60.8 168 166 176
12 36.8 134 170 198
13 60 180 182 192
14 42.4 170 190 170
15 52.8 136 198 186
16 29.6 150 180 190
17 49.6 142 148 158
18 95.2 154 136 190
19 41.6 130 148 144
20 51.2 160 158 194
Min 25.8 102 118 144
Max 106.4 180 158 194
Avg 53 147 160 178
Table 2
Measured delays in the
testing of the GOOSE-based
system

The older arc-flash protection system described in this paper has been available on the
market for over 10 years. Both laboratory tests and field performance have proven the system
to be robust and reliable. The proprietary communication system is also very fast, because it
was initially designed for that particular purpose. This older, proprietary system does have
certain limitations, however.
In order to overcome these limitations, a new IEC 61850- and GOOSE-based system was
developed. The functionality and performance of the new system was verified through testing.
Also, cybersecurity features present on the proprietary system can be taken into account
when applying IEC 61850.
The GOOSE-based system has many benefits. One of these benefits is being an established
standard. Using Ethernet also provides access to different network protocols while offering
new freedom when designing networks.
Various doubts have been raised regarding the usability of IEC 61850-based communication
in arc-flash protection. It has now been shown, however, that GOOSE communication over
Ethernet can be implemented in such a manner that it is fast enough to be applied for even
arc protection systems.
©2015SchneiderElectric.Allrightsreserved.
Conclusion
Anssi Jäntti received his M.Sc (Tech.) degree in computer science from the University
of Vaasa, Finland, in 2012. He works as a design engineer at Vamp Oy/Schneider
Electric and also teaches computer science at the University of Vaasa.
Kimmo Kauhaniemi received his M.Sc and D.Sc. (Tech.) degrees in electrical
engineering from Tampere University of Technology, Finland, in 1987 and 1993,
respectively. He is currently with the University of Vaasa, where he is professor of
electrical engineering and has also worked for ABB Corporate Research and the
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. His special interest areas include
power system transient simulation, protection of power systems, grid integration of
distributed generation, and microgrids.
Lauri Kumpulainen received his M.Sc. and Licentiate degrees in electrical power
engineering from Tampere University of Technology, Finland, in 1987 and 2000,
respectively. He works with the University of Vaasa, Finland, and was previously
Research Director with Vamp Ltd. and Program Director with Oy Merinova Ab, acting as
the national coordinator of the Energy Cluster in the Finnish national Centre of Expertise
Programme. He has authored a number of conference and journal papers, particularly
related to arc-flash protection and the impact of distributed generation.
Juha Rintala received his B.Sc. degree in information technology from University of
Applied Sciences in Vaasa, Finland, in 2006. He currently works at Vamp
Oy/Schneider-Electric as offer manager/AED expert in arc-flash protection and has held
the roles of HW design engineer and after-sales engineer/arc-flash expert.
Olavi Vähämäki received his M.Sc. degree from Oulu University, Finland, in 1982. He
works with Vamp Oy/Schneider Electric in Vaasa, Finland, where he is the R&D Director
and has held other R&D positions with the company. His special interest areas include
power system communications.
About the authors

Evaluating the Arc-Flash Protection Benefits of IEC 61850 Communication

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Evaluating the Arc-Flash Protection Benefits of IEC 61850 Communication