Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, 2014, 2, 632-638
Published Online April 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/jpee
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jpee.2014.24085
How to cite this paper: Liu, X.L., Guo, X.J., Chen, L., Zhou, Y. and Xin, C.W. (2014) The Use of Three-Dimensional Integrated
Design System in Smart Substation Design. Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, 2, 632-638.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jpee.2014.24085
The Use of Three-Dimensional Integrated
Design System in Smart Substation Design
Xiangli Liu1, Xinju Guo1, Lin Chen 2, Yun Zhou2, Chunwen Xin2
1State Grid Henan Economic Research Institute, Zhengzhou, China
2State Grid Nanyang Electric Power Supply Company, Nanyang, China
Received January 2014
Abstract
The traditional power design, construction, has been able to meet the requirements, but it has not
been established engineering data database support and the correlation between the data is poor,
due to inadequate coordination among design professionals, design easily lead to mistakes, field
problems, and design results failed in all aspects of the project to be fully utilized. With the tec h-
nology of three-dimensional integrated design system p enetrates in all walks of life, the introduc-
tion of three-dimensional integrated design system substation design solutions and the applica-
tion of common devices of State Grid Corporation in recent years, which provide technical condi-
tions for the application of virtual reality technology in substation design. According to its own
characteristics of substation project, we now propose prospec t on virtual reality technology in
substation design application.
Keywords
Database; Substation Design; Virtual Reality Techn ology; 3D I nte gr ati on
1. Introduction
With the rapid development of information technology, three-dimensional design has become an inevitable trend
and universal demand in the development of power engineering design in the future [1]. As the core of digital
intelligent substation, three-dimensional model must apply intelligent 3D design through full-featured three-di-
mensional integrated system that produces intelligent substation application, basing on the model case of main
wiring and distribution systems of universal design in the State Grid Corporation, and depending on appropriate
choice of generic engineering design, appropriate adjustments in the main wiring according to the project size,
and then choose the direction of the line and stop the door outlet location to adjust the device type and relate en-
gineering design parameters according to the State Grid Corporation common device interface allowing design-
ers, automatic generated interval cross sectional view of the electrical distribution equipment and general layout
of the floor plan. And it can be able to check the security of the device and calculate mechanical lightning pro-
tection of the wire and grounding design, equipment, materials and other statistical work. The substation space,
equipment, accessories, appendages of type, size, spacing, and other information can be stored in the model
program by the use of digital technology, the substation, intuitive and simple can be referenced and directly

X. L. Liu et al.
633
modified in a graphical interface [2]. Graphics and database are synchronically linked, plan, cross section, in-
stallation drawings, bill of materials, mentioning owned linkage map of all modifications all ensure consistency
of engineering design.
Currently, the substation design uses AUTOCAD t wo-dimensional graphics platform basically, it is in com-
puter -aided drafting stage, lacks professional software, the graphics workload is heavy, and duplication of effort
are many. Modify the contents cannot be related to linkage, or it will prone to error. And it cannot achieve the
relevant professional computing and the checksum, equipment and materials required artificial statistics, civil
inventory data and drawings drawn by hand finishing.
2. Theoretical and Practical Basis of the Project
2.1. The Brief Principle Description of the Research Contents of Projects
The object of digital substation is mainly achieved by three-dimensional design management system, application
of 3D design system and database management systems are based on the database, reflecting reality and logic
relation of sub station in 3D, 2D or 1D form, All figures, tables are mapped database data, chart and data are
consistent. In order to achieve the construction and operation of the substation efficient management of the
process, all information of each stage of the substation will be unified planning from design, procurement, man-
ufacturing, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance to decommissioning and being kept in a data
warehouse untidily. To achieve establishment of such a large database at the design stage, we must rely on a
comprehensive and efficient system of three-dimensional design and highly integrated database management
system.
Thr ee -dimensional integrated design system has the ability to build substation lifecycle information platform
and can provide a digital substation for the owners, the basic works are as follows.
1) The unified identification system is established at the beginning of the project, began at the design through
data warehouse platform, the information from engineering companies and engineering firms effectively deli-
vered to the appropriate procurement, construction sector, and ultimately to operation and maintenance.
2) Substation design based on the 3D design system as the core design me ans, through a network of digital
substation technology collaborative design, ensuring at the right time, right place, right information.
3) Using integrated Collaborative projects design, effective control versions and the corresponding workflow,
centralized control and management of all technical documentation and publishing drawings and upgrades,
making the design knowledge and achievements intact in a unified central database.
4) Schedule on-site and on-site construction and installation, commissioning, and centralized management of
quality control information by integrating all of the owners and contractors substation project management and
operational management system, forming the final figures substation, digital and knowledge management.
5) With the progress of the project, we will continue to accumulate data and maintain data consistency, estab-
lish a standardized model, data, drawings, documents. After the project is completed, the owners can finally
submit to contain substation operation and maintenance data required for the future operation of the substation,
digital substation maintenance management.
2.2. The Practical Basis of Three-Dimensional Digital Substation
Thr ee -dimensional digital substation specific applications can be divided into three stages. In the design phase,
in order to achieve a three-dimensional model with a powerful combination of information documents, form a
complete three-dimensional visualization of plant information system. It needs so much information, such as an
integrated three-dimensional model of a large number of design-related one-dimensional and two-dimensional
design information, materials, finished products, and construction and operation and maintenance of the neces-
sary information. In the infrastructure period, owners and construction unit use three-dimensional model to
query design information and direct extraction inventory of a variety of design drawings, equipment and mate-
rials linking with model, provide detailed procurement information to the procurement system and simulate con-
struction progress of the infrastructure and overhaul lifting reserved space, intuitive three-dimensional model to
guide the construction, provide visual design communication services to remote construction site through
INTERNET network
In the production run, the owners provide a standard project template through enterprise data warehouse, the

X. L. Liu et al.
634
engineering information of the substation is unified set in Interface of design and management, intelligence rela-
tion between all drawings, design content glance, drawing number is automatically generated according to vo-
lume, automated Summary table of generation engineering materials, volumes directory. Queries various stages
of information as the core of the system, 3D model and database, auxiliary run operation, maintenance and op-
eration of the auxiliary data maintenance, file management, training of personnel, and so on. The Project Work-
flo w as Figure 1.
Thr ee -dimensional model is able to achieve statistical calculation to generate digital model construction
drawings [3]. Software can not only manifest real scenario of substation through three dimensions and a multi-
angle, making all the equipment, wires and special relationship of the structures as plain as print, but can also
achieve the real lightning protection checking, precise materials statistics under a three-dimensional model. In
addition, to better understand the design intent and design advantages, you can use three-dimensional animation
in the substation to report the design, three-dimensional visual fully reflect the project design. Substation plat-
form and three-dimensional design of digital transfer applications to query and retrieve information to provide
Figure 1. Project workflow.
Established project standards,
project decomposition
Determine the origin of the
coordinate system and
coordinate
Electric Structure Building Heating
Professional
self-tes t
Professional
self-tes t
Professional
self-tes t
Professiona
l self-tes t
Three-dimensional
model of the general
assembly
Electric StructureBuilding Heating
Collision exists
Three-dimensional
model of the general
assembly
Checking the safety
distance
Extracting two-
dimensional
drawings
Generating
material
statements
Roaming and
three-
dimensional
renderings

X. L. Liu et al.
635
great convenience of owners and project management units checked without massive engineering drawings,
simply via a web browser. Three-d Substation will be able to see realistic virtual dimensional model, all the en-
gineering drawings and documents, all of the engineering data; just click on the model. It can be dispersed in
water with automatic access to file data. Even without having to run around in a long institute, construction sites,
run on-site inspection, just log network can view real-time design schedule, construction schedule, and pro-
curement status, debug parameters, the actual operation of the device status, and annotate comments directly on
the model. The Project Process as Figure 2.
3. The Research Content and Implementation Plan
Graphics technology accounts for a large share of the three-dimensional reality. How to bring real visual expe-
rience to the digital space? The key is how to simulate all the surfaces in the real world, this is the material,
which includes lighting calculations, graphics such as texture blending by setting the texture layer’s input and
operation, the output can be used as an input for the next layer, can also be used as the end result, at her shows.
For two API of 3D hardware, OpenGL and Direct3D have their fixed rendering pipeline, which is the pipeline.
Data of vertices such as position, normal, texture coordinates and so on will be provided to the pipeline, and
then define the light source [4,5], you can get an rendered image. In this particular rendering process, program
designer has no ways to control. Starting from DirectX 8 and OpenGL extensions, programmable feature was
introduced in the rendering pipeline, Graphics hardware began to support programmable features, so that the
developers could write a small program and run it in the graphics card to control the rendering process. Func-
tions of graphics hardware were developed from pipelined functional unit into two programmable units: vertex
units and pixel units. Through programming about vertex units and pixel units, you can not only optimize the
algorithm, but also implement functionality which could not be completed originally, such as distribute load
between the vertex pipelines and pixel pipelines on their bearing capacity; through a custom algorithm, improve
Three-dimensional arrangement
(Three-dimensional model)
Equipment and materials
Lightning Protection Design
Grounding Design
Lighting Design
Civil engineering design
Safety net from inspection
Interval section
and Layout
Simulation roaming
and Analog
construction
Equip-
ment
Library
Coding
equipment
and
materials
Cabling
The electrical
wiring
diagram
Distribution
room layout
Cable
inventory Terminal wiring
diagram
Secondary
wiring
diagram
Equipment wire
Selection check
Equipment
installation
diagram
Main
electrical
wiring
System
Information
Equipment
Inventory
Wire
mechanical
calculations
Short-circuit
current
calculation
Figure 2. Project process.

X. L. Liu et al.
636
the algorithm of fixed-function, or even wholly create original algorithms. In the Microsoft DirectX, this piece
of program code is called Shadier. In fact, the Shadier (render or shaded) are programs own the ability to mani-
pulate 3D objects, and could be performed by the GPU. Through these programs, the programmers can get 3D
graphical effects they wanted most. A 3D scene generally contains multiple Shadier. Some of this Shadier are
responsible for processing the 3D object’s surface, and some are responsible for handling screen objects which
are cached provisionally. There are two kinds of Shadier, one is the peak level, known as the Vertex Shadier, re-
placing lighting part fixed rendering pipeline, programmers can control vertex transformation, lighting, and so
on. The hardware unit which handles Vertex Shadberries called Vertex Shadier Processors (vertex processing
units). The other one is the pixel-level called the Pixel Shader, it could replace grating section in the fixed ren-
dering pipeline. Programmers can control the pixel color and texture sampling. Handling Pixel Shadier in hard-
ware unit is called Pixel Shadier Processor (s-pixel processing unit). In the DirectX 9 Shadier, specialized edit-
ing and programming language is introduced—high level shadier language (HLSL: High-Level Shading Lan-
guage). At the same time, file format is introduced to save code independently: file format. Fixes independent
from programs, so users can change different Fx files and easily improve the Visual effect of the program with-
out recompiling your program. Introducing programmable features are into the process of rendering is a revolu-
tion to real-time rendering; this gives developers more creative freedom, so users can create better effects. In this
project, we use Shadier to define material of our model, on the one hand, this improved illumination algorithm
and made texture-blending optimized, on the other hand, this in favor of modifying the material results easily in
the future.
The program uses the modular structure. Modules are independent from each other. Standardized parameters
are used to pass data. On the one hand this helps maintain a clear structure, it also facilitates the modification
and maintenance. Module design process design can be split into data module design, menu module design, and
interactive animation module design. Data module design mainly considers the texture processing, model mak-
ing, the configuration in accordance with the target hardware, sets the format and resolution of textures, control
the total numbers of polygon, budget allocation about polygon, the total model data format and structure. Design
menu module’s purpose is to reduce the difficulty of use and focus on the user experience. In the interactive
animation module design, efficiency of algorithm is not required, but you should try to maintain a clear logical
structure to ease the maintenance.
1) Typical engineering library management
Software uses a large network database to standardize the design of the typical universal design engineering,
data commonly used by equipment manufacturers, spare libraries, equipment and other typical centralized man-
agement, to facilitate search and download, and ensure the security of the database through permission settings.
Meanwhile platform database is open to members of the network. Members can simultaneously expand the open
device database. A lot of graphics device parameters about equipment are stored in the equipment library.
Through network management and permissions mechanism, digital design data and process management will be
achieved.
2) 3-D Parametric modeling for equipment
By the platform’s unique parametric three dimensional equipment models, just enter the key parameters, you
will generate a planar, cross-section, the side view and solid of the device, and get “real time modifications to
the three dimensional device” (parameter changes, equipment updated in real time). Software provides the fast
and easy way to create three-dimensional device so that it could draw a three-dimensional shape easily.
3) The generation of general layout and section
Designer selects line outlet direction and pitted door location, while selects suitable of national grid General
design programmer, platform will automatically generated preliminary electrical total plane, designer makes ad-
justment, platform will automatically generated eventually electrical total plane. This total plane contains large
three dimensional database information, such as equipment parameter and size, architecture size, wire type, and
the numbers of various of equipment. It can automatically generate a material table. For general layout, design-
ers can cut it if he wants the distribution of the sectional view, and this can be generated by the power distribu-
tion unit cross section materia ls.
4) 3-D graph about substation lighting protection
Anti -thunder calculation is one process of plane figure draws for substation; platform provides three dimen-
sional anti-thunders of draws. Designer only needs to place lightning rod in different places. So as long as de-
signer types into the location and height about lightning rod, platform will automatically generate three dimen-

X. L. Liu et al.
637
sional anti-thunder figure, if there is architecture or equipment exposing outside the range, platform will find
lightning rod not meet requires, then it will generate a perspicuous calculation book.
5) Powerful calculation function
Design platforms can do calculation features are: 1) short circuit current calculation and equipment selection,
2) dynamic grounding of substation meter grate, 3) wire tension calculation; 4) electricity calculation, and 5)
secondary circuit relay protection setting calculation, and 6) cable and statistics. 7) Suspended tubes calculation
software.
3-D model show as Figures 3-5 .
Figure 3. 3-Dgraphic model.
Figure 4 . The main transformer and 35 kV power distribution
device model.

X. L. Liu et al.
638
Figure 5. The whole 3-D model about total substation.
4. Summary
The method combines various data by using three-dimensional integration technology, builds virtual walk
through system for substation design, provides design, planning, decision-making, with a visual reference, and
provides a useful tool for further improvement programmer. In this method, three-dimensional reality technolo-
gy for data integration, complex, professional data are visually reflected through virtual reality technology and
this is more conducive to the exchange, identify problems, provide improvements, improve processing efficien-
cy, and optimize the construction. This method is the most effective power substation design engineering aide.
Publishing design via the Internet, so that more people can learn about it and even participate in decision-
making, benefit from universal knowledge of substation, and strengthen people’s understanding of the substation.
This can also increase the theoretical level of application environments, so that people can receive it more
quickly.
References
[1] P earson, A. (2005) The Real Toy the Virtual: Bergson and Delouse Jl. MLN, 12 0, 12 -27 .
[2] Marc, S. and Denis, L. (2010) Multiresolution Surface Modeling Based on Hierarchical Triangulation. Computer Vi-
sion and Image Understanding.
[3] Zhu, J. and Lub keman, D.L. (2009) Object -Oriented Development of Software Systems for Power System Simulation.
IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.
[4] Yukihiro, M. and Toshinori, Y. (2012) VR-Based Interactive Learning Environment for Power Plant Operat or. Pro-
ceedings of the International Conference on Computers in Education.
[5] Huang, J. (2010) Construction of Dynamic Database System of Power System Elements. Journal of Electric Power, 12,
1-7.