SDL Modeling and Validation of Home Area Network in Smart Grid Systems

Abstract

The Smart Grid is an intelligent power network featured by its two-way flows of electricity and information. The integrated communication infrastructure allows Smart Grid systems to manage the operation of all connected components to provide reliable and sustainable electricity supplies. The Home Area Network (HAN) is a dedicated network connecting devices in the home, as well as electrical vehicles. The HAN market is now emerging within the smart grid sector to serve home with different solutions. Such solutions should be devised with rigor to avoid any possible errors or anomalies along the process life cycle, from inception until deployment and operation. Modeling and validation is one of the powerful techniques used to achieve such goals. This paper presents an approach to modeling and validating the HAN network and its four services. We use SDL (Specification and Description Language) as a standardized language to describe especially the “demand response” service and its two programs types. The resulting design is a generic model that focuses on the main functions of the HAN network. We then validate the resulting SDL model using the reachability analysis technique with the support of IBM Rational SDL suite. The final validated model can be used to generate code for concrete or virtual Smart Grid solutions.