Solar Panels String Predictive and Parametric Fault Diagnosis Using Low-Cost Sensors

This work proposes a method for real-time supervision and predictive fault diagnosis applicable to solar panel strings in real-world installations. It is focused on the detection and parametric isolation of fault symptoms through the analysis of the Voc-Isc curves. The method performs early, systematic, online, automatic, permanent predictive supervision, and diagnosis of a high sampling frequency. It is based on the supervision of predictive electrical parameters easily accessible by the design of its architecture, whose detection and isolation precedes with an adequate margin of maneuver, to be able to alert and stop by means of automatic disconnection the degradation phenomenon and its cumulative effect causing the development of a future irrecoverable failure. Its architecture design is scalable and integrable in conventional photovoltaic installations. It emphasizes the use of low-cost technology such as the ESP8266 module, ASC712-5A, and FZ0430 sensors and relay modules. The method is based on data acquisition with the ESP8266 module, which is sent over the internet to the computer where a SCADA system (iFIX V6.5) is installed, using the Modbus TCP/IP and OPC communication protocols. Detection thresholds are initially obtained experimentally by applying inductive shading methods on specific solar panels.

Research on SCADA system security reinforcement method based on distributed Pareto algorithm

As the SCADA system develops continuously, the dissemination of malicious network behaviors has brought great risk to the normal operation of enterprises, meanwhile resulting in huge economic burden to personal work and life. Therefore, the security reinforcement strategy is crucial to the field of network security management and analysis of the SCADA system. Some researchers have started to investigate on how to minimize the cost of realizing the SCADA system reinforcement strategy. However, the SCADA system administrators are facing a very challenging problem, that’s the reinforcement budget is less than the minimal input of SCADA system security reinforcement. The core of this problem lies on how to choose a subset from massive security reinforcement strategies, so as to minimize the risks from not patching all essential security vulnerabilities within the budget. Based on a deep comparative analysis of existing multi-objective optimization technologies, this paper proposes a multi-objective optimization method based on system attack tree model, and uses Pareto algorithm to solve this problem. The experimental results demonstrate that the Pareto algorithm can effectively make the multi-objective decision in security reinforcement strategy, and can solve practical issues in actual SCADA system security reinforcement practice.

Moving Target Defense Based on Adaptive Forwarding Path Migration for Securing the SCADA Network

Static characteristics of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system are often exploited to perform malicious activities on smart grids. Most of the time, the success of cyberattacks begins with the profiling of the target system and follows by the analysis of the limited resources. To alleviate the asymmetry between attack and defense, network-based moving target defense (MTD) techniques have been applied in the network system to defend against cyberattacks by constructing a dynamic attack surface to the adversary. In this paper, we propose a novel MTD technique based on adaptive forwarding path migration (AFPM) that focuses on improving the defense capability and optimizing the network performance of path mutation. Considering the transient problems present in path mutation caused by the dynamic switching of the forwarding path, we formalize the mutation constraints based on the satisfiability modulo theory (SMT) to select the mutation path. Considering the limited defense capability of path mutation owing to the traditional mutation selection mechanism, we design the mutation path generation algorithm based on the network security capacity matrix to obtain an optimal combination of mutation path and mutation period. Finally, we compare and analyze various cyber defense techniques used in the SCADA network and demonstrate experimentally that our MTD technique can prevent more than 92% of passive monitoring under specified conditions while ensuring the quality of service (QoS) to be almost the same as the static network.

Power Outage Sensing Device based on IOT for Service Quality Evaluation in the PLN Distribution System

In overcoming electrical disturbances, PLN implements an equipment protection system that aims to reduce the areas experiencing power outage. However, this protection system has not been integrated with the SCADA system. As a parameter to maintain customer service continuity, PLN uses customer-based indexes, i.e., the Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI) and Customer Average Interruption Frequency Index (CAIFI). In the calculation of those index values, the record of power outage occurrence at PLN is still not accurate because the duration and frequency of power outage based on customer complaints. In this study, a Power Outage Sensing device is installed on the secondary distribution system transformer 380/220 which can ensure the location, record the frequency and duration of power outage and serve customers in real time based on IOT using WEMOS D1 and optocoupler sensors which can then be accessed on a web. In its implementation, all power outage is recorded in the database and can be accessed on the web interface. This device can speed up the recovery of disturbances in the system after an outage and perform accurate CAIDI and CAIFI index calculations as customer service evaluations.

An automated system development to control the device for supplying slag-forming mixture into mould of CCM

The mechanism of feeding slag-forming mixture (SFM) with a pneumatic drive has a number of disadvantages associated, in particular, with the uneven supply of the mixture into mould. To eliminate the drawbacks, mixture feeding device with an electric drive was designed to eliminate them. In order to ensure control of the SFM feeding process, an automated system has been developed that provides real-time information on the technological process of feeding the mixture into the mould of continuous casting machine, including speed of rotation of screw drive motors and movement of carriage, the level of the mixture in the bunkers and its consumption, temperature of the metal and slag. A software and hardware complex (SCADA-system) has been developed, which makes it possible to analyze the components of the mixture in the “online” mode and take into account the effect of changes in the supply of each of them on its composition. The dependence of the mixture consumption rate on the casting rate has been established, which can be displayed on the screen in the current mode. Application of the SCADA-system made it possible to control the developed SFM feeder both in manual and automatic modes. It was shown that the implementation of the developed automated SFM feeding device in the steelmaking production of Ural Steel, JSC will secure decreasing the SFM consumption by 2.8% and decreasing downtime by 5% due to increasing efficiency of fault detection with a total implementation cost of 200 thous. rubles.