Smart Grid and Information Technology

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2018) | Viewed by 23818

Special Issue Editor

Department of Computer Engineering, Myongji University, Seoul, Korea
Interests: security and privacy; smart-grid interoperability; electric vehicle charging systems; blockchain
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart grids are inherently multidisciplinary. Information Technology plays a key role in realizing smart grids. As a complex cyber-physical system, a smart grid system gathers data from sensors, performs local computations, exchanges field information through industrial IoT, delivers status information to a center and actuation commands back to field devices via middleware, protects data by security mechanisms, mass-processes big data, predicts the future by machine learning algorithms, provides RESTful services for management and customer benefit, to mention only a few from the endless list of applications of information technology in smart grid. This Special Issue invites articles on efforts in realizing smart grid systems and related cutting-edge energy systems utilizing information technologies. The domains of information technology and its application in smart grids include, but are not restricted to:

  • Communications and networking
  • Data modeling
  • Sensing and sensor fusion
  • Big data
  • Security and Privacy
  • Machine Learning
  • Blockchain and energy trading systems
  • Distributed energy resources
  • Virtual power plants
  • Distribution automation system

Dr. Minho Shin
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2541 KiB  
Article
On Localized Countermeasure Against Reactive Jamming Attacks in Smart Grid Wireless Mesh Networks
by Incheol Shin and Minkyoung Cho
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(12), 2340; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8122340 - 22 Nov 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3138
Abstract
Reactive jamming attacks have been considered as one of the most lethal and disruptive threats to subvert or disrupt wireless networks since they attack the broadcast nature of transmission mediums by injecting interfering signals. Existing countermeasures for the Internet against reactive jamming attacks, [...] Read more.
Reactive jamming attacks have been considered as one of the most lethal and disruptive threats to subvert or disrupt wireless networks since they attack the broadcast nature of transmission mediums by injecting interfering signals. Existing countermeasures for the Internet against reactive jamming attacks, i.e., channel surfing or frequency hopping, demands excessive computing resources, which are infeasible on the low cost resource constraint of the electrical devices in the Smart Grid wireless mesh networks. Even these are inadequate protect approaches to the control systems where the availability is the major security priority to achieve. To overcome the problems for normal lower computation power electrical devices in the Smart Grid wireless mesh networks with difference security triad from the Internet, we propose an efficient localized jamming-resistant countermeasure against the jamming attacks by the identification of trigger nodes whose wireless signal invokes the jammer in the grid. By constraining the trigger nodes to be receivers only, we can avoid the activation of the jammers and completely nullify the reactive jamming attack. The triggers identification approach utilizes a hexagon tiling coloring and sequential Group Testing (GT), which does not demand any sophisticated hardware. Theoretical analyses and simulation results endorse the suitability of our localized algorithm in terms of message and time complexity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Information Technology)
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23 pages, 1462 KiB  
Article
Smart Grid Testing Management Platform (SGTMP)
by Martin Schvarcbacher, Katarína Hrabovská, Bruno Rossi and Tomáš Pitner
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(11), 2278; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112278 - 18 Nov 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3587
Abstract
The Smart Grid (SG) is nowadays an essential part of modern society, providing two-way energy flow and smart services between providers and customers. The main drawback is the SG complexity, with an SG composed of multiple layers, with devices and components that have [...] Read more.
The Smart Grid (SG) is nowadays an essential part of modern society, providing two-way energy flow and smart services between providers and customers. The main drawback is the SG complexity, with an SG composed of multiple layers, with devices and components that have to communicate, integrate, and cooperate as a unified system. Such complexity brings challenges for ensuring proper reliability, resilience, availability, integration, and security of the overall infrastructure. In this paper, we introduce a new smart grid testing management platform (herein called SGTMP) for executing real-time hardware-in-the-loop SG tests and experiments that can simplify the testing process in the context of interconnected SG devices. We discuss the context of usage, the system architecture, the interactive web-based interface, the provided API, and the integration with co-simulations frameworks to provide virtualized environments for testing. Furthermore, we present one main scenario about the stress-testing of SG devices that can showcase the applicability of the platform. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Information Technology)
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13 pages, 3030 KiB  
Article
A Lightweight Scheme to Authenticate and Secure the Communication in Smart Grids
by Israa T. Aziz, Hai Jin, Ihsan H. Abdulqadder, Zaid Alaa Hussien, Zaid Ameen Abduljabbar and Firas M. F. Flaih
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(9), 1508; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8091508 - 01 Sep 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2962
Abstract
Self-reconfiguration in electrical power grids is a significant tool for their planning and operation during both normal and abnormal conditions. The increasing in employment of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), as well as the rapid growth of the new communication technologies have increased the [...] Read more.
Self-reconfiguration in electrical power grids is a significant tool for their planning and operation during both normal and abnormal conditions. The increasing in employment of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), as well as the rapid growth of the new communication technologies have increased the application of Feeder Automation (FA) in Distribution Networks (DNs). In a Smart Grid (SG), automation equipment, such as a Smart Breaker (SB), is used. Using either a wired or a wireless network or even a combination of both, communication between the Control Center (CC) and SBs can be made. Nowadays, wireless technology is widely used in the communication of DNs. This may cause several security vulnerabilities in the power system, such as remote attacks, with the goal of cutting off the electrical power provided to significant consumers. Therefore, to preserve the cybersecurity of the system, there is a need for a secure scheme. The available literature investments proposed a heavyweight level in security schemes, while the overhead was not considered. To overcome this drawback, this paper presents an efficient lightweight authentication mechanism with the necessary steps to ensure real-time automatic reconfiguration during a fault. As a first stage, authentication will be made between CC and SB, SB then sends the information about its status. To ensure the integrity of the authentication exchange, a hash function is used, while the symmetric algorithm is used to ensure privacy. The applicability of the suggested scheme has been proved by conducting security performance and analysis. The proposed scheme will be injected on ABB medium voltage breaker with the REF 542plus controller. Therefore, the probable benefit of the suggested scheme is the contribution to provide more flexibility for electrical utilities in terms of reducing the overall computational overhead and withstanding to various types of attacks, while also opening new prospects in FA of SGs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Information Technology)
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23 pages, 5374 KiB  
Article
A MQTT/MQTT-SN-Based User Energy Management System for Automated Residential Demand Response: Formal Verification and Cyber-Physical Performance Evaluation
by Kunqi Jia, Jucheng Xiao, Shuai Fan and Guangyu He
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(7), 1035; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8071035 - 25 Jun 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4022
Abstract
As one of the typical cyber physical systems (CPS), the user energy management system (UEMS) plays an increasingly significant role in the smart grid, such as participating in automated demand response (ADR). Traditional analyses related to the UEMS in ADR programming mainly focus [...] Read more.
As one of the typical cyber physical systems (CPS), the user energy management system (UEMS) plays an increasingly significant role in the smart grid, such as participating in automated demand response (ADR). Traditional analyses related to the UEMS in ADR programming mainly focus on energy management strategies or algorithms, where the interdependence and interplay between the cyber system and the physical system is neglected. This paper firstly presents an ADR control strategy of the UEMS with the objective of minimizing electricity bills and meeting users’ comfort constraints. Then, a hybrid scheme including Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) and Message Queuing Telemetry Transport for Sensor Network (MQTT-SN), which are publish-subscribe communication protocols, is developed to establish the cyber system of the UEMS. To evaluate the cyber-physical performance of the UEMS in ADR programs, the hybrid dynamic models of major behaviors of the UEMS are proposed and a UPPAAL (http://www.uppaal.org/)-based methodology of the formal specification and verification is also proposed. In case studies, the impact of communication reliability on the proposed ADR control strategy is studied and the quality of service (QoS) mechanism provided by MQTT/MQTT-SN is demonstrated as a cost-effective solution for the ADR control strategy under unreliable communication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Information Technology)
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29 pages, 10690 KiB  
Article
Robot Delay-Tolerant Sensor Network for Overhead Transmission Line Monitoring
by Fei Fan, Gongping WU, Man Wang, Qi Cao and Song Yang
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(6), 847; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8060847 - 23 May 2018
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3710
Abstract
The rapid development of the smart grid has led to higher maintenance cost and greater scalability of transmission lines. An effective and secure monitoring system for power lines has become a bottleneck restricting the intellectualization of power grids. To address this problem, a [...] Read more.
The rapid development of the smart grid has led to higher maintenance cost and greater scalability of transmission lines. An effective and secure monitoring system for power lines has become a bottleneck restricting the intellectualization of power grids. To address this problem, a novel method is proposed for the intelligent monitoring of power grids (Robot Delay-Tolerant Sensor Network, RDTSN) based on an inspection robot, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and Delay-Tolerant Sensor Network (DTSN) to achieve low-cost, energy-efficient, elastic and remote monitoring of power grids. With RDTSN, a smart grid can detect the fault of transmission lines and evaluate the operational state of power grids. To build an effective monitoring system for a smart grid, this research focuses on designing a methodology that achieves efficient and secure delivery of the data inspected on transmission lines. Multiple RDTSN scenarios are performed, in which different routing algorithms are explored to determine the optimal parameters, with a balance in network performance and financial cost. Furthermore, a data delivery strategy is introduced to ensure communication security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Information Technology)
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2114 KiB  
Article
TFR: A Novel Approach for Clock Synchronization Fault Recovery in Precision Time Protocol (PTP) Networks
by Alfarooq Omar Alshaikhli and Jong Myung Rhee
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8010021 - 24 Dec 2017
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5465
Abstract
Accurate and precise clock synchronization is one of the fundamental requirements for various applications, such as telecommunication systems, measurement and control systems, and smart grid systems. Precision time protocol (PTP) was designed and specified in IEEE 1588 to meet that requirement. PTP provides [...] Read more.
Accurate and precise clock synchronization is one of the fundamental requirements for various applications, such as telecommunication systems, measurement and control systems, and smart grid systems. Precision time protocol (PTP) was designed and specified in IEEE 1588 to meet that requirement. PTP provides a mechanism for synchronizing the clocks in a PTP system to a high degree of accuracy and precision based on exchange synchronization messages through a master–slave hierarchy. The best master clock (BMC) algorithm is currently used to establish the master–slave hierarchy for PTP. However, the BMC algorithm does not provide a fast recovery mechanism in case of master failures. The accuracy and precision of the PTP clocks could be deteriorated by the occurrence of failure in the network (link or node failure). These fault occurrences will affect network performance and reliability, and cause clock time drifting of the PTP nodes. In this paper, we present a novel approach, called timing fault recovery (TFR), to significantly reduce clock time drifting in PTP systems. TFR detects the fault occurrence in the network and recovers it by using a handshake mechanism with a short duration. Therefore, the TFR approach provides clock stability and constancy and increases the reliability and the availability of PTP systems. The performance of TFR has been analyzed and compared to that of the standard PTP. Various simulations were conducted to validate the performance analysis. The results show that, for our sample network, the TFR approach reduces clock drifting by 90% in comparison to the standard PTP, thus providing better clock firmness and synchronization accuracy for PTP clocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grid and Information Technology)
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