A virtual environment for protective relaying evaluation and testing

Protective relaying is a fundamental discipline of power system engineering. At Georgia Tech, we offer three courses that cover protective relaying: an undergraduate course that devotes one-third of the semester on relaying, a graduate course entitled "Power System Protection," and a three-and-a-half-day short course for practicing engineers. To maximize student understanding and training on the concepts, theory, and technology associated with protective relaying, we have developed a number of educational tools, all wrapped in a virtual environment. The virtual environment includes a) a power system simulator, b) a simulator of instrumentation for protective relaying with visualization and animation modules, c) specific protective relay models with visualization and animation modules, and d) interfaces to hardware so that testing of actual relaying equipment can be performed. We refer to this set of software as the "virtual power system." The virtual power system permits the in-depth coverage of the protective relaying concepts in minimum time and maximizes student understanding. The tool is not used in a passive way. Indeed, the students actively participate with well-designed projects such as a) design and implementation of multifunctional relays, b) relay testing for specific disturbances, etc. The paper describes the virtual power system organization and "engines," such as solver, visualization, and animation of protective relays, etc. It also discusses the utilization of this tool in the courses via specific application examples and student assignments.