Low Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) Phasor Calibrator Module

Author(s):

Brandon Parks and Kevin Claytor

Abstract:

Rapid development of low-cost Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices can lead to unforeseen code instability and errors. This can be disastrous if the IoT devices are connected as hardware-in-the-loop for control of the power grid. For measurement devices such as synchrophasor measurement units, an external signal source of known amplitude, frequency, and harmonic distortion can be used as a calibration. This report presents a low-cost, low-power, low-complexity calibration device able to perform a number of key checks for synchrophasor measurement units. Additionally, because it is controllable via USB serial communications, it is able to allow IoT power monitoring devices to self-calibrate using a wide range of preprogrammed waveforms. The hardware and software development considerations of this calibrator are presented here as well as its performance and ability to check a real-world IoT power-monitoring device, the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory Autonomous Real-Time Electric- and Magnetic-Field Integrated Sensor.