Design and implementation of visual SCL configurator

IEC 61850-6 defines a substation configuration language (SCL) and provides interoperability between intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). The complexity of SCL configuration files makes it difficult for engineers to configure IEDs, and therefore a visual configuration tool has been developed to streamline the work. This paper introduces the technical principle and implementation methods for building such a tool. Its software architecture, visual component and SVG implementation for visual interface are discussed in detail. Several other design considerations like SCL object model, visual representation and graphical substation elements are taken into account as well. The approaches introduced in this paper have potential for fully graphical XML-based configurators.