Educational platform for maneuvers simulation in medium or high voltage substations

This paper presents the practical implementation of the educational platform necessary to study the maneuvers of the protective and switching equipment located in a medium or high voltage substation. The “maneuver” concept describes a set of operations used to change the state of different pieces of equipment, their operation regime or modify the electrical connections matrix in the system. The maneuvers can be executed either locally, from the main control panel of the platform by means of command keys or can be triggered remotely. The mode of command input (local or remote) is set by the regimes key. Changes in the state of different pieces of electrical equipment are cross-conditioned by the circuit diagram of the electrical station. The state of the devices is displayed in accordance with information received from the interface relays or the PLC interface. This educational platform contributes to a better understanding of the types of maneuvers and of the connections between multiple interacting pieces of electrical equipment in a power station. The automated distribution systems allow for the rapid and safe reconfiguration of the power feed. The maneuver simulating methods described in this paper can be used to verify the synoptic panels located in substations. Knowledge on how to construct these panels and on the interconnection matrix contributes to the training of the operating personnel designated to work in electrical substations.