Input Database

The SINCAL exporter makes use of an Input Database to provide information that is not available through the Network Data server. This information could be:

• Fault Levels / Source Impedances at the infeed points;
• Protection Data;
• DER / PV Data
• Operating Point Data

Depending on your needs, there are multiple options available for entering the data, and which (if any) data is provided through the input database. This section provides more information about the data and how it can be used.

There are two different types of file that can be used as the Input Database: the first is a simple CSV format, which is for providing limited fault level information only, and the second is a database (either Microsoft Access or SQLite format) which can contain more information.

The two types are described in the following sections.

Input CSV Format

If a CSV file is used as the input database, it can only be used to provide fault level data. The the CSV file must follow the following format:

The first line/row must be a header row, generally containing the text:

name,sk2,r,x,z0Z1,r0,x0

Subsequent rows should follow a comma separated format, containing the elements named in the header row above, which are given further explanation here. For the input CSV, each of the values will be applied to the normal, maximum and minimum fault level values for the infeeder. (If different values are required for the different conditions, an input database can be used).

Name: This should correspond to the name of the infeed point; it will be the name of the feeder if you are using the One Infeeder per Feeder option in the exporter options. Otherwise it should be the name of the zone, followed by a dash, and then the voltage in kV. 

tip

If you are unsure what the name should be, you can generate an output SINCAL file with no infeed data, and look at the name of the node attached to the infeeder. This will generally be the name that should be used to supply here

8Sk2: This is the value that will be set as the Sk” value for the infeeder within SINCAL. 

R:8 This value will be set as the R value for the infeeder within SINCAL. It will also be used as the R component when calculating R/X. 

X: This value will be set as the X value for the infeeder within SINCAL. It will also be used as the X component when calculating R/X.

Z0Z1: This is the value that will be used for Z0/Z1 for the infeeder within SINCAL.

R0: This value will be used for R0 for the infeeder within SINCAL.

X0: This value will be used for X0 for the infeeder within SINCAL.

Input Database Tables

If an input database is used, several tables may be contained within it. Those tables are described in this section.

SourceImpedances Table

The source impedances table contains information about the fault levels / source impedances of the infeeders that the SINCAL exporter will be creating. The table could be created using the following SQL command:

CREATE TABLE "SourceImpedances" (
            "FaultLevel_ID"           INTEGER,
            "Zone_Bus"     TEXT,
            "Zone_Key"     TEXT,
            "Voltage"         INTEGER,
            "Max_R_Pos" REAL,
            "Max_X_Pos"  REAL,
            "Max_R_Zero" REAL,
            "Max_X_Zero" REAL,
            "Norm_R_Pos"           REAL,
            "Norm_X_Pos"            REAL,
            "Norm_R_Zero"          REAL,
            "Norm_X_Zero"          REAL,
            "Min_R_Pos"   REAL,
            "Min_X_Pos"   REAL,
            "Min_R_Zero" REAL,
            "Min_X_Zero"  REAL
)

This table contains information about the fault levels for each zone substation, or zone substation section. The fields in each record are described further here:

FaultLevel_ID: This field contains an ID for the record. It does not need to be linked to anything outside of the database.

Zone_Bus: This field provides a name for the zone / busbar section. If the export option for One Infeeder per Feeder is used, this field will be used to link to the Feeders table within the database (see information below), such that the bus section can be linked to each feeder that connects to it. If the One Infeeder per Feeder option is not being used, this field is not used by the exporter.

Zone_Key: This should be the name of the zone substation used within the EWB database, and hence the name of the zone substation bus that is created in the output SINCAL file. This field is used when the export option One Infeeder per Feeder is not used, to identify the name of the zone. See the hint above on how to determine the name of the zone in the output SINCAL file if you are not sure. Note: this method does not allow for a split bus with different fault levels. Only one record per zone substation and voltage is read.

Voltage: This should be the voltage of the zone substation busbar. If you have a zone substation with multiple voltages (eg. 11 kV and 22 kV), you can create one record for each voltage at the zone substation, each with their own fault level data.

The remaining fields in the table specify the maximum, minimum and normal fault levels, by providing the positive and zero sequence data for R and X.  The SINCAL exporter will use these values to calculate values for the other source impedance characteristics (such as Sk” and Z0/Z1).

Feeders Table

The feeders table is used to indicate which feeders belong to which busbar sections. The busbar sections are important as they are used within the Source Impedances table (see the information above). This table is only required if the One Infeeder per Feeder option is selected within the export options.

The table could be created using the following SQL command:

CREATE TABLE "Feeders" (
            "Feeder_ID"    INTEGER,
            "Feeder_Name"          TEXT,
            "Zone_Bus"     TEXT,
            "Zone_Key"     TEXT,
            "Voltage"         INTEGER,
            "Zone_Bus_Number"  INTEGER
)

The fields in the feeder table are described below:

Feeder_ID: This field contains an ID for the record. It does not need to be linked to anything outside of the database.

Feeder_Name: This should correspond to the name of the feeder in the source data system. This should be the same name given to the feeder by the exporter. If you are not sure of the name, you can check how it is displayed in the SINCAL exporter interface, or the name of the bus attached to the infeeder in the output SINCAL file.

Zone_Bus: This is the name of the bus segment that the feeder is attached to. It should match to the name used in the SourceImpedances table, so that the source impedance for the feeder can be determined.

Zone_Key: This field is the name of the zone substation the feeder connects to. It should match to the Zone_Key field in the SourceImpedances table. However, this field is not strictly required.

Voltage: This is the voltage of the feeder. It is not strictly required.

Zone_Bus_Number: This field is not yet in use.

EmbeddedGeneration Table

This table is used if the exporter option Model DER is checked. If that option is used, the data in this table will be used to create a DC infeeder at each distribution transformer that has data. The table could be created using the following SQL command:

CREATE TABLE "EmbeddedGeneration" (
            "InverterSize"  REAL,
            "PremiseNumber"       INTEGER,
            "PanelOutput" INTEGER,
            "Status"           TEXT,
            "Type" TEXT,
            "InstallDate"     TEXT,
            "KVA"  INTEGER,
            "SubNumber"  TEXT,
            "Feeder"          TEXT,
            "SubRegion"    TEXT,
            "ZoneSub"       TEXT,
            "PremType"    TEXT,
            "Business"       INTEGER,
            "Residential"    INTEGER,
            "Total"  INTEGER,
            "Unknown"      INTEGER,
            "Lat"     REAL,
            "ID"      INTEGER,
            "Long"  REAL
)

The fields in the table have the following meaning:

InverterSize: The size of the inverter at the customer premise, in kW.

PanelOutput: The total rating of the panels at the customer premise in kW.

SubNumber: The name of the distribution substation that the customer premise belongs to.

Status: The status of the customer connection. Any text is allowed in this field, but only when the field is set to 'Connected' will the data be inserted into the output SINCAL file.

The other fields in the table are for information purposes only, they are not used by the exporter.

When creating a DC infeeder, the exporter will look for any records in this table that match to the name of the distribution substation. For record to be considered, their status must be ‘Connected’ (this is case sensitive). The exporter will look at the InverterSize and PanelOutput fields of matching records, and take the lesser of these two values as the total possible output. The total possible outputs for each customer premise at the distribution transformer will be added together to give the total size of DC infeeder that the exporter will place at the distribution transformer.

DC infeeders are always created as being switched out in the SINCAL models.

ProtectionSettings Table

The protection settings table is used when the exporter option Create Protection Devices is used. It contains information that will be applied to the protection devices created within SINCAL. It must be used in conjunction with a SINCAL Protection database and appropriate information present on the server system. Only overcurrent time protection devices can be created.

The table could be created using the following SQL command:

CREATE TABLE "ProtectionSettings" (
            "ProtSetting_ID"          INTEGER,
            "Node_Name" TEXT,
            "Phase_Type" TEXT,
            "Earth_Type"   TEXT,
            "i_nenn"           INTEGER,
            "i1"       INTEGER,
            "t1"       INTEGER,
            "ip"       INTEGER,
            "tp"       INTEGER,
            "esw1" INTEGER,
            "iep"     INTEGER,
            "tep"     INTEGER
)

Table Fields

ProtSetting_ID: This field contains an ID for the record. It does not need to be linked to anything outside of the database.

Node_Name: This is the name of the node that the protection device should be placed at. It should match to the name in the source data system.

Phase_Type: This is the name of the protection device type that should be used for the Phase protection at the protection device. It should correspond to a ‘Type’ name from the SINCAL Protection database.

Earth_Type: This is the name of the protection device type that should be used for the Ground protection at the protection device. It should correspond to a ‘Type’ name from the SINCAL Protection database.

i_nenn: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for i_nenn and ifuse_nenn - the rated current of the (phase) protection device or fuse.

i1: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for i1 - the I2t tripping Ip (phase) current, and the value for ei1 - the I2t tripping Iep (ground) current.

t1: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for t1 - the I2t tripping tp (phase) time, and the value for et1 - the I2t tripping tep (ground) time.

ip: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for ip - the Current (Ip) (Phase) value.

tp: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for tp - the Time (tp) (Phase) value.

esw1: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for esw1 - the Tripping Iep (Ground) value. It can be set to 0, indicating off, or 1, indicating on.

iep: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for iep - the Current Iep (Ground) value.

tep: This value will be inserted into the protection settings as the value for tep - the Time tep1 (Ground) value.

ExtendedData Table

The ExtendedData table is an optional data table containing information that will be inserted into the ‘Extended Data’ of a SINCAL element. Normally this is found under the Additional Data tab for a SINCAL element, within the Extended Data section.

The table could be created using the following SQL command:

CREATE TABLE ExtendedData (
                 MRID TEXT,
                 Value REAL,
                 Unit TEXT,
                 AttributeName TEXT
)

The data on this table will be inserted into output SINCAL files, provided that the MRID value matches to the MRID used and seen by the exporter. A test for this is if the MRID appears within the Master Resources section of the element’s data; if this value matches to the MRID in this table, then the extended data should be used. In some cases the exporter will merge lines or nodes, creating compound IDs, which might not match to the original source data. This might create problems in matching to the information in this table. If that is the case for you, please let Zepben know.

Both the unit and AttributeName fields are limited to being 8 characters at most in SINCAL, so the text from this table could be curtailed if it is longer than that. At present, only numeric values can be used for the Value field, not text ones. If this is a limitation for you, please let the Zepben team know.

There is no option to select the use of this table in SINCAL files; if the data is in the table and matches, it will be inserted into the output SINCAL file, without the need to select any options through the interface (other than pointing to the input database).

OperatingPoints Table

The OperatingPoints table is used along with the OperatingPointElementData table and the OperatingPointIndividualData table to create operating point data in output SINCAL files. If you are not using this feature of the exporter, you do not need to use or populate this table.

If you wish to populate data to the OperatingPoints table, you will need to also populate at least one of those other tables. In combination, these tables will allow the creation of operating points within output SINCAL files. Please see the information in the Export Options Form, within the Advanced section, for further detail about setting this up.

The table could be created using the following SQL command:

CREATE TABLE "OperatingPoints" (
            "Name"            TEXT,
            "ShortName"   TEXT,
            "DefaultOperatingPoint"          INTEGER
)

There should be one row for each operating point desired in output SINCAL files. The table contains the Name of each desired Operating Point in the Name field. This will be copied to the Name field of the Operating Point within SINCAL. It should also be used to identify the operating point within the OperatingPointElementData and OperatingPointIndividualData tables. For this reason, the Name should be unique.

The ShortName value will be used as the Short Name of the operating point within SINCAL.

The Default Operating Point should be set to 1 for at most one row of the table, and 0 for all other rows. This indicates that the indicated row should be used as the operating point in the base variant and, if they exist, the fault variants. If no rows have a 1, then no operating point will be applied to the base and fault variants. (Note that whenever operating points are used, utilisation factors such as fS, fP, and fQ are not set within the data in any variant, so a default operating point can take the place of any default values for these multipliers that might exist in EWB). This is only applicable if the SINCAL output version is version 18 or greater, prior to this, it was not possible to set an operating point for the normal power flow.

OperatingPointElementData Table

This table is used to store operating point information for a class of elements, either Loads, Infeeders or DcInfeeders. It is used in conjunction with the OperatingPoints table to populate information about operating points within output SINCAL files. As with the OperatingPoints table, if you are not using this feature of the exporter, you do not need to use or populate this table.

The table may be created with the following command:

CREATE TABLE "OperatingPointElementData" (
            "OperatingPointName"           TEXT,
            "ElementType"            TEXT,
            "Value1"          REAL,
            "Value2"          REAL
)

Each row within the table will describe operating point information for a particular combination of operating point and element type. All operating points named in the OperatingPoints table should be populated for any element type that is using the “Shared Value” data type.

Table Fields

OperatingPointName should match to the name given to the operating point in the operating points table.

ElementType should match to the type of element that is being populated for this operating point. Valid values for this are Load, DcInfeeder, or Infeeder. Text in these fields must match to one of these values exactly (including case). Nonmatching text will result in the row being ignored.

Value1 and Value2 are used for the operating point multipliers or values, depending on the type of operating point in use. They are used as follows:

Operating Point Type	Value1	Value2
Factor	Factor [f]	Not used
Factor P and Q	Factor Active Power [fP]	Factor Reactive Power [fQ]
Power	Active Power [P] (kW)	Reactive Power [Q] (kVAr)
V and P	Voltage [V] (kV)	Active Power [P] (kW)
Factor V and P	Factor Voltage [fV]	Factor Power [fP]

OperatingPointIndividualData Table

This table is used to store operating point information for an individual element, either a Load, Infeeder, or a DcInfeeder. It is used in conjunction with the OperatingPoints table to populate information about operating points within output SINCAL files. As with the OperatingPoints table, if you are not using this feature of the exporter, you do not need to use or populate this table.

The table may be created with the following command:

CREATE TABLE "OperatingPointIndividualData" (
            "ElementName"          TEXT,
            "OperatingPointName"           TEXT,
            "ElementType"            TEXT,
            "Value1"          REAL,
            "Value2"          REAL
)

Each row within the table will describe operating point information for a particular individual element of a particular element type. All operating points named in the OperatingPoints table should be populated for each element in any file you wish to create of a type that is using the “Individual” data type. (This will result in a large number of rows within this table). Optionally, you can choose not to populate values for the operating point which is the default (see the information within the OperatingPoints table). If you choose not to populate those values, they will be populated by default values: factors will be either 1.0 or the load utilisation for loads which have this data available. Power values for loads or DC infeeders will be based on the base values for those elements. For infeeders the default voltage will be the base voltage of the infeeder, and the default power will be zero.

Table Fields

ElementName is the name of the element as it appears in the SINCAL file. (This is case sensitive). Note that the use of the name as the identifier means that all names of the elements should be unique.

OperatingPointName should match to the name given to the operating point in the operating points table.

ElementType should match to the type of element that is being populated for this operating point. Valid values for this are Load, DcInfeeder, or Infeeder. Text in these fields must match to one of these values exactly (including case). Nonmatching text will result in the row being ignored.

Value1 and Value2 are used for the operating point multipliers or values, depending on the type of operating point in use. They are used as follows:

Operating Point Type	Value1	Value2
Factor	Factor [f]	Not used
Factor P and Q	Factor Active Power [fP]	Factor Reactive Power [fQ]
Power	Active Power [P] (kW)	Reactive Power [Q] (kVAr)
V and P	Voltage [V] (kV)	Active Power [P] (kW)
Factor V and P	Factor Voltage [fV]	Factor Power [fP]