Virtual lab-scale simulator of relay protection and automation for power supply systems and electrical installations

The article describes a virtual simulator engineered at the Department of Theoretical Electrical Engineering and Electrification of Oil and Gas Industry at the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas for studying relay protection and automation of industrial power supply systems. Technology modernization necessitates modernization of education and training. Laboratory test works on engineering promote reinforcement of learning and systematization of theoretical skills, and allows practicing new experience. The advantages of the virtual simulator as a training tool are: economic efficiency and availability; individual attention to each student; safety of training process; depth and flexibility of investigation. The simulator allows exercising protection of individual components and complex circuits of electric power supply. The development methods were mathematical modeling in Matlab and graphical modeling in Simulink. The simulation modeling used two universal concepts. The first is the modular architecture of the virtual terminal. The model of the terminal consists of two functionally interconnected subsystems: Terminal–Body and Terminal–Display. The second concept is the use of the Simulink Dashboard library to implement the interface. The authors conducted a survey of students who were the first to test-operate the virtual simulator. All surveyed students emphasized the high quality of the designed program product. The average rating was 4.75. The scientific novelty consists in the modular architecture of the relay protection and automation simulator, with the dynamically controllable parameters, on the basis of the customized component library, which ensures flexibility of research investigation and allows analyzing data on real-life operation of relay protection systems. 

Dmitrieva V. V., Arinich A. E., Kravchenko V. A., Sizin P. E. Virtual lab-scale simulator of relay protection and automation for power supply systems and electrical installations. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(5):95-109. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_5_0_95.

V.V. Dmitrieva¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, e-mail: dm-valeriya@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8740-9380,
A.E. Arinich¹, Master's Student, e-mail: arinicsasa726@gmail.com, ORCID ID: 0009-0001-0803-6046,
V.A. Kravchenko¹, Student, e-mail: varya_krh19@mail.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0001-3328-122X,
P.E. Sizin, Cand. Sci. (Phys. Mathem.), Assistant Professor, NUST MISIS, 119049, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: mstranger@list.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8156-4972.2,
¹ Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University), 119991, Moscow, Russia.

P.E. Sizin, e-mail: mstranger@list.ru.

1. Plashchanskiy L. A. Elektrosnabzhenie gornogo proizvodstva. Releynaya zashchita [Power supply of mining production. Relay protection], Moscow, Izd-vo «Gornaya kniga», 2013, 269 p.

2. Cong Cuong Nguyen, Huyen Trang Nguyen, Xuan Thanh Le, Viet Bun Ho A research of utilizing directional protective device for improving the sensitivity of digital relay in Vietnam coal mines grid. Journal of the Polish Mineral Engineering Society. 2025, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 441—453. DOI: 10.29227/IM-2025-01-02-035.

3. Klyuev R. V., Bosikov I. I., Gavrilina O. A. Improving the efficiency of relay protection at a mining and processing plant. Journal of Mining Institute. 2021, vol. 248, pp. 300—311. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31897/PIM: 2021.2.14.

4. Karmanova O. A., Beloglazov A. A. Creation of a virtual booth for the study of group systematic code in the Matlab modeling environment. Journal of Applied Informatics. 2008, no. 6, pp. 6—10. [In Russ].

5. Iliev I., Kryukov A., Suslov K., Kodolov N., Kryukov A., Beloev I., Valeeva Y. Modeling of measuring transducers for relay protection systems of electrical installations. Sensors. 2025, vol. 25, no. 2, article 344. DOI: 10.3390/s25020344.

6. Novash I. V. Modeling of power systems and testing of relay protection devices in real and model time. Energetika. Proceedings of CIS higher education institutions and power engineering associations. 2017, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 198—210. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.21122/1029-7448-2017-60-3-198-210.

7. Ershov Yu. A., Maleev A.V. Modeling of microprocessor relay protections in the MATLAB environment. Journal of Siberian Federal University. Engineering and Technologies. 2010, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 221—228. [In Russ].

8. Esmaio Mustafa Ali, Eltaeb Mohamed Ali Distance protection relay and effect MOV on zones of relay using MATLAB. International Science and Technology Journal. 2024, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 1—14. DOI: 10.62341/mdmp2724.

9. Ameer Aqeel Kamoona, Husam H. Mohammed, Heba Z. Abdoul Kreem Optimizing automated reley settings: a comparative analysis using simulation — based protection schemes. International Journal of Engineering Science Technologies. 2025, vol. 9, no. 2. DOI: 10.29121/ijoest.v9.i2.2025.693.

10. Azizan N. S., Chin Leong Wooi, Baharuddin Ismail, Syahrun Nizam Md Arshad Hashim Simulation of differential relay for transformer protection. IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering. 2020, vol. 767, no. 1, article 012004. DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/767/1/012004.

11. Fei Li, Luochen Zhuyuan A summary of relay protection-based simulation for dynamic performance and reliability assessment. International Journal for Applied Information Management. 2023, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 11—23. DOI: 10.47738/ijaim.v3i1.46.

12. Karimi M., Mokhlis H., Bakar A. H. A., Shahriari A., Faradonbeh M. A., Rosli H. M. Impact of Load Modeling in Distribution State Estimation. 2012 IEEE International Power Engineering and Optimization Conference Melaka, Malaysia, 2012. DOI: 10.1109/PEOCO.2012.6230837. 

13. Lebedev V. D., Kutumov Yu.D. Mathematical modeling of ultrahigh voltage power transmission lines for the development of relay protection devices based on the wave principle. Bulletin ISPEU. 2020, no. 2, pp. 42—50. [In Russ].

14. Ivanov I. Yu., Novokreschenov V. V., Ivanova V. R. Modeling of a section of an electrical network with a longitudinal compensation device for studying parameters affecting the sensitivity of differential protection. Bulletin ISPEU. 2025, no. 4, pp. 57—65. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.17588/2072-2672.2025.4.057-065.

15. Dinesh Rangana Gurusinghe, Jagannath Wijekoon Showcasing applications of a multi-zone distance protection relay model using a digital real-time simulator. PAC World Conference. 2025.

16. Uakhitova A., Yerbolkyzy G., Tatkeyeva G. Development of a fuzzy logic-based model for assessing the reliability of relay protection systems. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies. 2024, vol. 4, no. 2(130), pp. 67—77. DOI: 10.15587/1729-4061.2024.310549.

17. Weiwen Xiao, Xinfand Ren Artificial intelligence algorithms enhancing relay protection and operational efficiency in high and low voltage distribution networks. Intelligent Decision Technologies. 2025, vol. 19, no. 5. DOI: 10.1177/18724981251355872.

18. Ubong Sebastian Ekop, Ekom E. Okpo, Anyanime Tim Umoette Application of intelligent overcurrent relays for real-time protection of induction motor under fault conditions. Journal of Engineering Research and Reports. 2025, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 489—510. DOI: 10.9734/jerr/2025/v27i31447.

19. Penghuan Yan. Development status and prospects of relay protection technology in smart grids. Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology. 2025, vol. 155, pp.  41—48. DOI: 10.54097/ghpfxv49.

20. Tao Wen, Wei Liu, Shaolin Jiao, Jia Zhu Quantitative evaluation method of operation reliability of substation relay protection device based on improved neural network algorithm. Journal of Physics Conference Series. 2024, vol. 2704, no. 1, article 012002. DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/2704/1/012002.

21. Shihang Gao, Yulong Ma, Fengrong Zhao, Zhiyang Zou Single Event effect protection design of output module of relay protection device. Journal of Physics Conference Series. 2024, vol. 2785, no. 1, article 012027. DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/2785/1/012027.

22. Belozerov P. A., Shevchenko T. Y. Automation of transformer relay protection design. Young Researcher of the Don. 2020, no. 6, pp. 39—43. [In Russ].