Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is a formal method that is used to support analysis, design, independent verification, and validation inherent in the development of software and hardware systems. MBSE applications are present in many areas of our daily lives, including manufacturing, robotics, healthcare, automation, etc. However, despite their rapid and sustainable growth during the last few years, the MBSE methods themselves are quite far away from perfect. There are some current problems, which resist more rapid penetration of MBSE systems in their development. One of them is that currently the majority of MBSE systems are vendor dependent and, as a result, they have poor compatibility with each other. Furthermore, currently, there is a gap between the design of a digital model and a control model of an engineering system. Currently, this problem is usually solved by involving two or more groups of engineers, where each of these groups works on their own problems. All this costs companies additional engineering time and, as a result, development costs. Therefore new, and more sophisticated approaches for the generation of MBSEs are needed in order to overwhelm the challenges highlighted above.
In order to narrow the field of study and better concentrate on specific problems, smart power distribution systems have been chosen as the main research object for this dissertation. Thus, in this work, the author introduces Model-Integrated Systems Engineering (MISE), as the MBSE sub-discipline. Here and later in this paper, the author will refer to MISE as the main area of interest. Also, the author uses the term DigitalTwin to refer to the multilayered structure of a complex distributed automation system consisting of three layers, namely:– the static machine-readable information about the infrastructure of the smart energy system,– the simulation model layer,– the distributed control layer for the investigated smart energy system.
In general, two new transformation approaches for automatic MISE generation are discussed in the scope of this dissertation, namely:1. Transformation of the System Configuration Design (SCD) files of an electric system(presented in IEC 61850) into the corresponding SIMULINK model.2. Transformation of specification files of electronic components into corresponding OPC UA information model.All discussed approaches are implemented in the form of a program code that is publicly available on the Internet.
The IEC 61850 and OPC UA standards are considered key components of the current dissertation. IEC 61850 is an international standard covering different sides of smart energy distribution systems including communication protocols for diverse equipment in a substation, including protection, control, and measurement equipment, as well as intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). Information Modeling OPC UA is a platform-independent service-oriented architecture that combines the concepts of semantic modeling.
First, the structure of the IEC 61850 standard is discussed, as well as its potential benefits for the MISE of smart power distribution systems in terms of the automatic transformation of the information model.
Next, the architecture of the electrical system (the SCD file) of the electrical vehicle (EV) charging station (CS) is proposed as an example. The aim is to design a mechanism for the automatic transformation of MISE in two domains, namely:- Physical model of the electrical system itself,- Automatically build a communication channel between the digital replica (the model) of the electrical system and the virtual energy management system (EMS).
Thus, this work aims to contribute to the design and virtual commissioning of Digital Twin systems, as well as to improve the interoperability between IEC 61850 compliant systems and electric vehicle charging stations (paper C explains that in more detail).
Finally, by narrowing down the scope of the investigation to one specific electrical device, a new approach for converting integrated circuit (IC) specification files of an electric system into an OPC UA information model is discussed. The designed transformation algorithm is based on the directed graphs theory (paper D explains that in more detail). The purpose of this work is to highlight and contribute to the problems of the MISE analysis solutions.
In summary, the work presented in this dissertation raises questions about interoperability between different standards, the problems of converting the IEC 61850 information model into MISE, verification of the generated MISE compared to the original IEC 61850 information model, and the problems of forming an information model OPC UA.