PNNL

Abstract

A distributed application architecture for communication and control of distribution network assets is introduced. The architecture is based on the physical topology of the feeder instead of communications network layers, with creation of individual areas of responsibility for distributed application agents based on the concept of switch-delimited topological areas. Implementation of the architecture in standards-based platforms is enabled by a robust graph-based topology processor leveraging the class structure of the Common Information Model (CIM). The topology processor creates a set of LinkNet linked list structures for indexing of CIM class object instances and mapping of the feeder topology in real-time. The data structures and algorithm are computationally lightweight, with performance tests presented for several IEEE distribution test systems.