RUNNING FAIL-SAFE SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE TOOLS FOR THE INSTABILITY PREVENTION AUTOMATION COMPLEX

SUMMARY The multi-echelon emergency control automation has been developed and put into operation in Russia. The automation to preserve large-disturbance stability of power stations and power pools (APDS), when these disturbances may cause blackouts at large areas, is a first echelon of this multi-echelon emergency control system. The automation design uses a hierarchical approach, with the local complexes of automatic control-action adjustment (LACA) that cover area up to 1000 km in diameter (i.e. 3-4 sections of the 330 kV and higher transmission line) - being the lower hierarchy level. Presently, several LACA microprocessor devices are already put into operation. The two LACA complexes, presented in the paper, allow using different command variables (control-action) calculation blocks. While designing and developing software and hardware tools (SHT) much attention has been paid to operational reliability support. Required reliability was achieved through the duplication of all the elements as well as through the use of the special structure software. The SHT software involves three interconnected subsystems that differ in operational duty, functions performed and, thus, in requirements to reliable functioning. As the strictest requirements to reliable functioning are specified to MSS (microprocessor-based supervisory subsystem) both in terms of technical tools used for its implementation and in terms of software, a hard real-time operational system (RTOS) QNX has been chosen as a basis for the MSS software, a standardized API (Application Program Interface) has been elaborated as well to implement all general functions (process initiation and process execution control, data access, messaging, journalling and logging). Besides, a functional structuring of the software has been provided. As a result, it was grouped into backbone blocks, ensuring the technology blocks operation and technology blocks solving emergency control automation (ECA) tasks. Composition of the backbone blocks is invariable and, practically, does not depend on specific task being solved by the device. At present, three command variables selection blocks have been developed, namely: the block providing command variables (CV) (or controlaction) selection after the “1-BEFORE” manner using “full” mathematical model of the control area, the block providing CV selection after the “1- BEFORE” manner using “simplified” mathematical model of the control area, the block providing CV selection after the “2- BEFORE” manner, designed to select CV from a set of pre-determined commands for specific software under the ongoing circuitmode conditions.