1038 IEEE Transactionson Power Delivery ,Vol. 6, No.

3, July 1941

AN INTELLIGENT TOOL FOR DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATIONS TROUBLESHOOTING

AND UAINTENANCE SCHEDULING
S.D. Kaminaris A.V. Machias B.C. Papadias
Student Member IEEE Senior Member IEEE Senior Member IEEE

National Technical University

Department of Electrical Enoineering
Electric Power Divigon
42,Bth October St., 106 82 ATHENS - GREECE

Abstract - T h e objective of this paper is t o describe 2. SUBES DESCRIPTION

SUBES : a Rule-Based Expert System Approach for
Distribution Substations Troubleshooting and
Maintenance Scheduling. These complex decision tasks 2.1. Svstem Configuration
are nowdays performed by highly experienced engineers,
whose knowledge can b e expressed a s a set of production
rules. As i n f e r e n c e m e c h a n i s m f o r t h e k n o w l e d g e The configuration of SUBES is shown on the following Fig.1.
processing, first order logic is natural. Therefore the
system has been implemented in Turbo-Prolog. SUBES
works interactively. A very user-friendly environment for
the interaction between computer and end-user is
achieved by a menu-driven dialog and a multi-window
USER

-0-
display. T h e modularity of t h e system quarantees easy
updatin . T h e system has been developed by the Electric
Power Eystems Laboratory of the National Technical
University of Athens and can b e used for educational and,
as well, engineering purposes.

Keywords : Rule-based expert system approach, Distribution INTERFACE

Substations, Troubleshooting, Maintenance Scheduling.

1. INTRODUCTION
The last decade has witnessed significant progress in the field of
Expert Systems Applications on Power Systems. Many expert
systems have been sucessfully implemented for various MEMORY ENGINE MODULE
applications [ 1-71,
Modern industrialized societies depend on the availability of a
I
reliable electricity supply to sustain their functions and standards
of living. Distribution systems supply power directly to
1
consumers and are indispensable for daily lives. K N O W L E D G E B A S E
The deterioration of Substation Electrical Equipment is normal
and this process begins as soon as the equipment is installed. If
deterioration is not checked it can cause electrical failures and
malfunctions. With a well-organised and implemented
preventive maintenance program, potential hazards that can
cause failure of equipment or interruption of electrical service
can be discovered and corrected. However, it is inevitable that
some failures will occur, and then it is essential that the fault be

1
indentified and the necessary repairs of replacement put in hand
as quickly as possible. Some faults will be obvious, but the EQUIPMENT KNOW LEDGE
majority will require a detailed investigation to fiid the cause
and the extent of the damage. MAINTENANCE BASE
A maintenance engineer engaged in the before mentioned tasks DATA, BASE MOD I F ICAT I O N
must have enough experience to carry out them in a satisfactory
way. So, SUBES aims at assisting the maintenance engineers to MODULE
obtain safe and quick fault repairing and reliable maintenance
program of Distribution Substations Electrical Equipment.
I UPDATING I
91 WM 0 4 9 - 7 PWRD A paper recommended and approved
by the IEEE Substations Committee of the IEEE Power
Engineering Society for presentation at the IEEE/PES
1 MODULE I
1991 Winter Meeting, New York, New York, February
3-7, 1991. Manuscript submitted August 31, 1990;
made available for printing December 4 , 1990.
Fig.1. SUBES Configuration.
0885-8977/9l/WOO- 1038$01. O N 1991 IEEE

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 1039
It comprises of the following modules :

(0 The User Interface, used for the interaction

between computer and end-user.
(ii) The Inference Engine. SUB. SUB. SUB.
... ...
(iii) The Working Memory PART ( 1) PART ( i ) PART(n)
(iv) The Updating Module, used for updating
the Equipment Maintenance Data Base.

67) The Explanation Module, which enables

the user to ask the system why it made a
given deduction.
(4 The K n o w l e d g e Base , in which the
required heuristic human expert knowledge is
encoded in sets of production rules with IF-
THEN structure in a tree-like form.
(vii) The K n o w l e d g e B a s e M o d i f i c a t i o n
M o d u l e , used for the modification /
expansion of the Knowledge Base, and
(viii) The Equipment Maintcnance D a t a Base
containing data describing the state of each
Substation Equipment from a maintenance
point of view (e.g. time of the latest
maintenaiice work).
STATE ( 1 ) STATE (i) STATE ( n )
2.1.1. T h e Knowledge Base A I -

The developed Knowledge Base consists os sets of production

rules with IF-THEN structure which are applied by using the CAUSE ( 1 ) CAUSE (i) CAUSE ( n )
backward-chaining method. It has been constructed in a form of
tree-like structure and consists of the following two main
branches :
- Fault Repairing, and

- Maintenance

In the first main branch tlie empirical knowledge concerning the

troubleshooting process is included. The knowledge rclated t o
this main branch can be represented as in Fig.2.

The first level of the subbranches is occupied by the different REMEDIAL MEASURES EXPLANATION
parts a substation can be broken into.

The second level of subbranches is occupied by the different

equipment elements of a Distribution Substation.
At the third one, the different Protective-Monitoring Devices
that can been engaged in order to isolate a fault of each of the
before mentioned equipment elements are included.
At the fourth one, the fault states a specific Protectivc-
Monitoring Device can be found in are encoded.
At the next one, the possible causes related to a given fault state
of a specific Protective-Monitoring Device are encoded.
And then, there the several tests carried out in order a more
detailed diagnosis to be made.
Depending on the answers tlie user gives to the questions poscd
by the system and the results of the above proposed control tests
a final decision in a more detailed level IS made and the required
remedial measures are given.
At this stage the user can ask the system t o explain how it came
to this conclussion.
Fig.2. Knowledge Tree Main Branch : “Troubleshooting“.
I n the second main branch the knowledge concerning the
required maintenance of equipment of a Distribution Substation
is contained. The knowledge encoded in this main branch can be
represented as in Fig.3
There are two kinds of maintenance works for each of the
equipment o f a Distribution Substation : the Planned
Maintenance and the Unplanned Maintenance.
The Planned Main[enance works intervals may be six months,
one year, two years. three years and five years. For each of the
before mentioned intervals specific maintenance works, as well,
the proposcd season of year that these works would be made are
deterrriincd.
However, it is possible some of the Distribution Substations
equipment elcinetits to have to be included to an unplanned
~nainteiiaiiceprogram. This depends on some specific factors
affecting the equipment element maintenance state.

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 L SUBSTATION - MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING
~~

2.1.5.EauiDment Maintenance Data Base

A
I
The Equipment Maintenance Data Base is divided into two
1parts.
PLANNED I UNPLANNED I In the first part, all the Substations of the Distribution System in
question with their names and their equipment elements are
MAINTEN. contained. Each of the before mentioned equipment elements is
accompanied by two code numbers. The first one is the time of
the latest maintenance and the second one determines if the
specific equipment element must be included in an unplanned
EQUIPMENT maintenance program.
I ELEMENTS I In the second part, all the equipment elements that can be found
in a Substation of the Distniution System in question with their
names, the proposed frequency of their maintenance, the season
of year that this maintenance would be made, as well, the
MAINTENANCE FACTORS manpower required for this maintenance work are included.
TIME AFFECTING The updating of the Equipment Maintenance Data Base
(EMDB) is done at the end of every month and can be made
INTERVALS easily using the Upating Module. We have also to say that the
EMDB can be expanded (e.g. a new Substation is added to the
Distribution System or an existed Substation is removed from
the Distribution System), if required, very easily..
INSTRUCTIONS

2.1.6. Knowledge
- Base Modification Module

The representation of Knowledge in a tree-like form and the use

Fig.3. Knowledge Tree Main Branch : "Maintenance".
2.1.2.Knowledge Acauisition
The specialized knowledge required for the development of the
SUBES has been aquired from :
of menus for the interaction between the system and the end-
user provides a very user-friendly environment for an easy
modification / expansion of the Knowledge Base.
The three main options the user has at every level of the
Knowledge tree are :
- Addition of a new tree-branch.
- Deletion of an existing tree-branch.
- Edition of an existing tree-branch.

0) Expert engineers working for years at the

Public Power Corporation of Greece and at We must notice that if a branch of a specific level of the
several construction companies of the private Knowledge-tree is deleted, then all subbranches on the lower
sector. levels will also be deleted.

(4 Data accumulated over the years from The following Fig.4. is part of the interaction between SUBES
experienced engineers working in the power and user during the modification procedure of the knowledge
industry. encoded in that main Knowledg5tree branch related to
"TROUBLESHOOTING.
(iii) Maintenance handbooks and Troublecharts
taken from the power industry.
KNOWLEDGE BASE M O D I F I C A T I O N
F A U L T S OF SUBSTATION 22 / 6 . 6 k V
2.1.3.Inference Engine
LEVEL : PARTS OF SUBSTATION
SUBES is implemented in Turbo-Prolog. Turbo-Prolog has a
ready-to-run inference engine that tries to find all possible sets I
of rules that satisfy the given goal and uses a backtracking H . V . PART ( 2 2 k V )
mechanism which, once one solution has been found, causes
Turbo-Prolog to reevaluate any assumptions made to see if some TRANSFORMER
new variable values will provide new solutions. PARTS
L . V . PART ( 6 . 6 k V )
AUX IL I ARY EQUI PMENT
2.1.4.User Interface

An expert system in order to be an effective tool must provide a

very user-friendly communication environment with the end-
user. To make this interaction more effective, a combination of
I ARROW KEYS AND ENTER FOR SELECTION I
simple menus, pull-down menus, tree-menus, overlapping
windows and queries is implemented. These features allow the
creation of an efficient style of interaction. Fig.4. SUBES - Knowledge Base Modification Process

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 104 1

3. SUBES USE DEMONSTRATION

FAULTS OF SUBSTATION 2 2 / 6.6 kV

The system has been evaluated by use in an actual Distribution
System, the Distribution System of Prefecture of Attiki, Greece.
It consists of 10 Distribution Substations 150 kV / 20 kV and 80 PART TRANSFORMER
Distribution Substations 22 kV / 6.6 kV. LEVEL EQUIPMENT ELEMENT

i
O i l C i r c u i t B r e a k e r 22 kV
The MAIN MENU of SUBES can be represented as on the
following figure : C a b l e s 2 2 kV
ELEMENT - T r a n s f o r m e r ( M a i n body)
Load Tap Changer
FAULTS MAINTENANCE K.BASE EXIT
I RUN
UPDATE DBASE
O i l C i r c u i t B r e a k e r s 6.6kV

ARROW(& CTRL): MOVE (FAST) F10: SELECT]

................................
** W E L C O M E * Fig.7. SUBES - Troubleshooting Process(Level 2)
-------_-_-------__ *
* *
* SUBES 1 / 1990
................................
*

NATIONAL
OF
TECHNICAL
ATHENS
UNIVERSITY
/1- FAULTS OF SUBSTATION 2 2

PART : TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER MAIN BODY)
/ 6.6 k V

H#EtfIoN
LEVEL
i BUCHHOLZ RELAY
: FAULT STATE
ARROW KEYS AND ENTER FOR SELECTION
A1 a r m

FieS. MAIN MENU.

FAULT STATE
€ Trip

3.1. Selection : "FAULTS" ARROW(& CTRL): MOVE (FAST) no: SELECT^

It is supposed that there is a failure on a Power Transformer of a
Substation 22 kV / 6.6 kV.The following figures (No6 - Nolo) Fig.8. SUBES - Troubleshooting Process (Level 4)
are related to the "Troubleshooting"process followed by SUBES
in order the cause of the failure to be isolated and the required
repair works to be recommended.

FAULTS OF SUBSTATION 2 2 / 6.6 kV 1

IFAULTS OF SUBSTATION 2 2 / 6 6 k v J PART : TRANSFORMER
ELEMENT TRANSFORMER MAIN BODY)
PROTECTION
*
BUCHHOLZ RELAY :
LEVEL : PARTS OF SUBSTATION
. FAULT STATE : T R I P
LEVEL : TESTS
r H.V. PART ( 2 2 k V ) A n a l y s i s of G a s e s i n O i l -
TRANS FORMER
PARTS
L.V. PART (6.6 kV)
AUX I L IARY EQUIPMENT
C2H4
- - - - - - = 6.34 _C2H2
_ _ - - _= 1.96
C2H6 C2H4
(ARROW(& CTRL): MOVE (FAST) F ~ O : SELECT^ WRITE DOWN THE RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS

Fig.6. SUBES - Troubleshooting Process (Level 1) Fig.9. SUBES - Troubleshooting Process (Level 10)

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1042

STEP 4
I FAULTS OF SUBSTATION 22 / 6.6 ~ ~~

kV I Knowing the manpower per day of the month in question

available for maintenance works and using the output of the
previous step a maintenance schedule for the month in question
PART : TRANSFORMER is proposed taking into account some restrictions like that the
ELEMENT TRANSFORMER MAIN BODY) required maintenance of a Substation must be completed before
PROTECTION i BUCHH~LZRELAY we Droceed to maintain another Substation (Fig.13-14).
- It is
FAULT STATE : TRIP poss'ible the user to have a printed report of it.
LEVEL : FINAL DECISION
Final Decision
The Transformer has an s e r i o u s
internal fault. A l l the faults iso-
l a t e d b e f o r e have t o be r e a i r e d
and then, t h e Transformer !o be MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING
energized again.
I f no f a u l t s have been i s o -
l a t e d ou have t o check t h e
AREA
SYSTEM
-
PREFECTURE OF A T T I K I
DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
controy c i r c u i t . MAINTENANCE : DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATION
150kV/20kV & 22kV/6.6kV
F9 : CHECK
SPACE BAR : END Month i n q u e s t i o n
J an uar y February March
1 *** PLEASE G I V E YOUR SELECTION *** ~ ~~

Apri 1 May June

September
October November December
Fig.10. SUBES - Troubleshooting Process (Level 14)

ARROW KEYS AND ENTER FOR SELECTION

3.2. Selection : "Maintenance"
Fig.11. SUBES - Maintenance Scheduling Process
The Maintenance Department which is responsible for the
maintenance of the Distribution System of the Prefecture of
Attiki has to prepare at the end of every month of year a
maintenance program for the Substations for the next month.
The steps followed in order a maintenance program for a given
month of year to be determined are the following :

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING
STEP 1
At first, the Substations whose maintenance of their equipment AREA : PREFECTURE OF ATTIKI
is not yet completed are determined. So, after this step we have SYSTEM * DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
a set of the Substations Equipment that are not yet maintained. MA1NTENANCE DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATION
This is carried out using the Equipment Maintenance Data Base. 150kV/20kV & 22kV/6.6kU
It is possible for the user to have a (printed) report of it
(Fig. 12.). - Equipment Required Maintenance -
* S u b s t a t i o n 150kV/20kV (Name) :
STEP 2 MARKOPOULO
The before determined set of Substations Equipment not yet - Transformer 150kV/20kV : No1
maintained is classified using the followingpriority criteria:
- O i l C i r c u i t Breaker 20kV : No1
- Demand for unplanned maintenance.
- O i l C i r c u i t Breaker 20kV : No2
- Is the time needed till a planned maintenance progam to be L
carried out less than one month ?
- Is the current season of year appropriate for carrying out a
I *** PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE *** I
maintenance work ?

STEP 3
Fig.12. SUBES - Maintenance Scheduling Process
Using Equipment Maintenance Data Base the manpower
required for the maintenance of each of the Substation
Equipment of the previous determined set is calculated.

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 1043

The main advantages of this expert system approach are :

* PROPOSED MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE *
- The Knowledge related to the problem domain is
embedded in a tree-like structure, an easily understood
AREA * PREFECTURE OF A T T I K I and very user-friendly knowledge representatlon
SYSTEM DISTRIBUTION NETWORK paradigm.
MAINTENANCE : DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATION
150kV 20kV & 22kV/6.6kV - The transfer of new knowledge-experience gained is vely
MONTHIYEAR : AUGUsf / 1990 easy since the modification / expansion of the
DAY/DATE : WEDNESDAY 7/8/1990 Knowledge Base can be carried out in a very simple way.
*** SHIFT : 2 3 . 0 0 - 7.00 *** - The communication environment for the interaction
between computer and user consists of simple menus,
- S u b s t a t i o n : NEW L I O S I A pull-down menus, tree-menus, overlapping windows and
queries making SUBES a very powerful and useful tool
- Equipment - for the maintenance engineers.
O i l C i r c u i t B r e a k e r 22kV : N o 1 - The provided Explanation Module enables the operator
under training to understand the reasoning process
O i l C i r c u i t B r e a k e r 22kV : No2 followed by the system to come to a conclussion.

SUBES has been evaluated by use in an actual Distribution

*** PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE *** System, the Distribution System of Prefecture of Attiki of
Greece and is also used for educational purposes at the National
Technical University of Athens.

Fig.13. SUBES - Maintenance Scheduling Process

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I* PROPOSED MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE * I The authors wish to acknowledge the Puplic Power Corporation
of Greece and especially the Maintenance Department of
Distribution System of Prefecture of Atiiki for their support for
this project.
AREA : PREFECTURE OF A T T I K I
SYSTEM : DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
MAINTENANCE : DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATION
150kV 20kV & 22kV/6.6kV
MONTH/YEAR : AUGUS/: / 1990 REFERENCES
DAY/DATE : WEDNESDAY 7 / 8 / 1 9 9 0
*** SHIFT : 7.00 - 15.00 ***
R. Fujiwara, T. Sakaguchi, Y. Kohmo and H. Suzuki,
- S u b s t a t on : LEFKA "An Intelligent Load Flow Engine for Power System
Planning", IEEE Trans., Vol. PWRS-1, 1986, pp.302-307.
- Equipment -
S.Talukolar, E. Cardozo and T. Perry, "The Operator's
Bus B a r s 22kV Assistant - An Intelligent, Expandable Program for
Power System Trouble Analysis", IEEE Transactions.
*** SHIFT 15.00 - 23.00 *** Vol.PWRS-I, 1986, pp.182-187.
- S u b s t a t o n : LAGONISI T. Sakaguchi and K. Matsumoto, "Development of a
Knowledge Based System for Power System Restoration"
- Equipment - IEEE Transactions, Vol. PAS-102, 1983, pp.320-329.
Oil C i r c u i t B r e a k e r 20kV : N o 1 C. Fukui and J. Kawakami, "An Expert System for Fault
Section Estimation Using Information from Protective
Relays and Circuit Breakers", IEEE Trans.,Vol.PWRD-1
No4, 1986, pp.83-90.
*** PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE ***
A.J. Conzalez, R.L. Osborne, C.T. Kemper and S.
Lowenfeld, "ON-LINE Diagnosis of TurbineGenerators
Using Artificial Intelligence", IEEE, VolEC-I, No2, June
1986.
Fig.14. SUBES - Maintenance Scheduling Process
C.A. Protopapas, A.V. Machias, S.D. Kaminaris and B.C.
Papadias, " An Expert System for Troubleshooting and
Repairing of Electric Machines", Proccedings of the
Symposium on Expert Systems Applications to Power
Systcms, Stockholm-Helsinki, pp.10-21 - 10-23, August
22-26, 1988.
5. CONCLUSIONS
C.A. Protopapas, S.D.Kaminaris, A.V. Machias and B.C.
A n I n t e l l i g e n t Tool f o r D i s t r i b u t i o n S u b s t a t i o n s Papadias, "An Expert System for Fault Repairing and
Troubleshooting and Maintenance Scheduling (SUBES) aiming Maintenance of Electric Machines", IEEE Transactions
to assist the maintenance engineers in the before mentioned on Energy Conversion, Vo1.5, Nol, 1990, pp.79-83
tasks has been presented.

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1044

BIOGRAPHY
S.D. gaminaris was born in Livadia, Greece on March 22,
1%. He recieved the Electrical E Diploma from the
National Technical University of AXE%*) in 1989. He is
currently a postgraduate student at the Department of Electrical
Engineering at the NTUA. His research interests include expert
systems applications on Power Systems and especially in
industrial environments.
He is member of Technical Chamber of Greece and student
member of IEEE.
A.V. Machias was born in Trikala, Greece on June 14, 1942.
He received the Diploma and Ph.D. in Electrical En 'neering
from the National Technical University of Athens (&A) in
1973 and 1984 respectively. He also received the M.Sc. in
Electrical Engineering from ASTON University, Birmingham in
1976. Now he is Assoc. Professor at the NTUA.
His research interests include transient stability, optimization,
pattern recognition, artificial intelligence and expert systems
applications on Power systems. The wind generators and solar
energy are also included in his research interests.
He is senior member of IEEE.
B.C. PaDadias was born in Greece, on Sept. 18, 1932. He
received the Electrical Engineering and Doctor of Engineering
de ees from the National Technical University of Athens
( S U A ) in 1956 and 1969 and the Master's and Doctor of
Engineering degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
Troy, U.S.A. in 1972 and 1975 respectively.
Since 1977 he is fully Professor at the Department of Electrical
Engineering of NTUA. Now he is the Director of Power Systems
Laboratory of Electrical Engineering Department of NTUA.
He is the President of Greek Chapter of IEEE.

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