Introduction
Historically, substation engineering design relied heavily on two-dimensional (2D) methods, depending on designers’ spatial imagination and drafting skills to conceptualize spatial layouts. This approach had several limitations: it lacked intuitive visualizations and quantifiable models; design information across different disciplines was fragmented, resulting in poor integration and coordination. For example, verifying live distances could only be done on a plane, potentially compromising safety margins. Additionally, design deliverables often lacked constructability assessments, and the depth of design development (secondary construction design) was insufficient, which added implicit challenges to project difficulty, schedule, and safety.
Furthermore, there was a lack of economic and technical evaluation and optimization of the overall spatial layout, making it difficult to meet the demands of a robust smart grid. This traditional design method suffered from low efficiency and poor owner control, limiting its suitability for refined design and lean management. Leading power grid owners, such as Beijing Internet Connection Company mentioned here, have explicitly demanded 3D design and digital integration, embedding them into their project management philosophies and systems.
The significance of BIM design and integrated delivery includes:
1) Enhanced design accuracy: BIM enables fine-tuned design that efficiently detects and prevents errors, omissions, and deficiencies that were difficult to identify in conventional 2D, discipline-isolated design approaches.
2) Improved collaboration: BIM fosters cooperative design among various disciplines, as well as between general design contractors and specialized subcontractors. Working on a unified design platform increases cross-disciplinary cooperation efficiency and reduces errors during interaction.
3) Comprehensive digital modeling: BIM provides a three-dimensional substation model integrating geometry, physical properties, and data, offering owners a realistic virtual experience and a complete digital prototype of the substation. This foundation supports full lifecycle management, facilitates maintenance and renovation, and opens opportunities for extended design services and value addition.
1. Project Overview
Jinping Sunan ±800kV Ultra High Voltage Direct Current Transmission Project
This project connects the Yulong Converter Station in Xichang City, Sichuan Province, to the Tongli Converter Station in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It involves constructing two ±800 kV converter stations with a rated transmission capacity of 7.2 million kilowatts and a maximum continuous capacity of 7.6 million kilowatts. A new ±800 kV DC transmission line will be built, spanning approximately 2,100 kilometers and traversing eight provinces: Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu.
This article focuses mainly on the BIM applications for the valve hall projects at Yulong and Tongli converter stations.
2. Project Features
1) The two converter stations cover large geographic areas with considerable seismic design differences and varying design codes and routes, requiring high modularization and standardization of design materials.
2) The station layout is compact, especially the valve hall, the core of the converter station, putting pressure on internal spatial organization.
3) The compact design demands strict live distance verification and clash detection for surrounding facilities.
4) Multiple design teams, including specialists in architecture, structures, plumbing, electrical systems, steel structures, and weak current from various institutes and suppliers, are co-located, making communication and coordination challenging.
5) Diverse disciplines employ different design tools and file formats, complicating interfaces.
6) Tight schedules prohibit rework caused by design errors, omissions, or clashes from being addressed on-site.
7) Owners require refined designs, including detailed drawings and construction-level designs.
8) The entire project owner enforces integrated management based on BIM, with 3D design submissions undergoing integrated review and coordination.
3. Response Measures
To meet these challenges, Zhongnan Electric Power Design Institute, East China Electric Power Design Institute, Shanghai Architectural Design Institute, alongside specialized consultants and deepening design teams, have implemented digital management of substation design and deepening design workflows, along with visualization of project management information within a BIM environment.
3.1 Concept of 3D Digital Design
3D design builds upon 2D methods by representing all substation equipment in detailed 3D models, offering intuitive and precise spatial relationships.
Digital design establishes a database-centric system for design deliverables, enabling seamless digital integration across design review, equipment procurement, bidding, construction management, asset management, and operation. This forms a platform for lifelong engineering information storage and realizes the digitization of the entire substation lifecycle.
3.2 Content of 3D Digital Design
3D digital design encompasses the entire substation design scope, covering all disciplines including electrical, civil, structural, plumbing, and site engineering.
Leveraging a robust database backend, it manages all structured and unstructured design data comprehensively. Using design tools, it delivers 2D schematics, 3D equipment layouts, site and building models, electrical and civil calculations, and material statistics, culminating in construction drawings.
Design outcomes are delivered digitally to construction, operations, and management teams, facilitating full lifecycle project management.
3.3 Digital Substation
With rapid economic growth, demands for faster construction and higher technological standards in power grids have led to the concept of the “digital power grid.” Traditional 2D design methods increasingly fail to meet owners’ expectations for efficiency and quality. Consequently, the concept of “digital substations” has emerged, aiming to digitize all substation signals and management data, and to employ advanced control and information technologies for reliable control and management.
This project adopts a BIM implementation plan for digital substations, addressing the entire lifecycle:
- Using digital design technology to deliver high-quality design products.
- Employing a digital design platform for comprehensive digital management of substation design.
- Laying groundwork for State Grid Corporation’s digital procurement platform integration, enabling digital procurement during construction.
- Promoting BIM model use by construction units and virtual construction technologies for digital construction.
- Establishing construction phase management information systems to enable effective information management during construction.
- Utilizing project management software combined with 3D models for visual progress management.
- Digital handover processes covering design-to-construction and construction-to-operation phases.
BIM design outputs assist owners in bidding and procurement by providing detailed component information, shortening procurement and supervision cycles. The digital substation prototype supports constructability assessments, construction planning, technical optimization, and sequencing. It also facilitates simulation of large equipment transport, steel structure hoisting, installation, maintenance, and cross-disciplinary coordination.
4. Application Overview
Jinping Sunan ±800kV Ultra High Voltage Direct Current Transmission Project
4.1 Architectural and Structural Design
Building components such as functional layouts, site plans, equipment foundations, reserved civil engineering openings, embedded parts, and cable trenches are designed in 3D within the BIM environment. This approach not only offers visual clarity and intuitiveness but also enables all disciplines to instantly access civil design data and changes. Structures can be adjusted and optimized in real time according to process requirements, laying a technical foundation for comprehensive 3D integration and coordination among disciplines.
4.2 Earthwork Engineering
The project uses a GIS-based geographic information modeling system to analyze and design vertical terrain for the station area. This replaces previous qualitative and manual grid-based elevation calculation methods, providing parametric linkage of design modifications and analysis results. Designers can clearly understand how optimizations impact final technical and economic outcomes, while construction teams receive accurate input data, supporting smooth project progression.
4.3 Main Wiring Design and Model Layout
Within the BIM environment, designers efficiently generate 2D schematics, arrange 3D equipment, and accurately model wires and connections including their sagging in 3D. Wire stress analysis and construction report generation are integrated. Dynamic sectional views allow the automatic creation of 2D cross-sectional drawings from the 3D model, satisfying construction needs.
The 2D schematics, 3D models, and cross-sections are linked dynamically and updated in real time. Modifications in the 3D layout automatically refresh related 2D drawings, eliminating manual updates, reducing errors, and significantly boosting design efficiency.
4.4 Three-Dimensional Protection Verification
For example, traditional lightning protection plans depict coverage only in 2D or partial sections. In contrast, BIM enables dynamic, multi-angle verification of protection zones and safety distances. These design outputs can be shared with construction and operation teams to inform construction plans and safety measures, ensuring predictability, accuracy, and effectiveness in safety and civilizational protocols.
5. Professional Collaborative Application
5.1 Civil Engineering Coordination
Traditional projects often suffer from mismatches or conflicting information between architectural and structural drawings. Such discrepancies can cause disputes during construction, affecting progress, quality, and safety. BIM’s modeling approach simulates the construction process virtually, allowing 80% of onsite issues to be identified and resolved during the modeling phase, preventing unnecessary delays and rework.
5.2 Coordination between Civil and Mechanical & Electrical Engineering
Prior to electrical installation, civil engineering acceptance is crucial. Common issues include mismatches in the size and location of reserved openings, and inconsistencies between embedded civil parts and electrical installation requirements.
Previously, verifying architectural compliance for equipment installation involved laborious searches across numerous drawings and manufacturer documents. Now, the project owner mandates simultaneous submission of 3D BIM models alongside 2D drawings from electrical, civil, mechanical, and subcontractor teams. These models are integrated into a unified review platform, enabling intuitive and precise assessment of design status and interrelations, freeing owners from tedious manual coordination and allowing focus on interface and schedule management.
5.3 Deepening Design Preparation
In China’s current industry context, many construction drawings lack sufficient detail for direct construction, especially in civil, mechanical, electrical, and steel structure disciplines. Thus, a deepening design phase follows construction drawings to bridge design and construction effectively. However, deepening design adoption in power construction remains limited, often resulting in pipeline conflicts and work stoppages onsite.
For example, electromechanical deepening involves overlaying discipline drawings to adjust pipeline routing and sequence for construction guidance. Steel structure deepening converts structural designs into prefabrication and installation drawings. Prior to BIM, limitations of tools and uncoordinated designs reduced deepening design effectiveness.
BIM has dramatically enhanced deepening design quality and efficiency. In this project, mechanical and electrical pipelines’ navigation through dense steel structures and installation sequences are clearly visible. BIM models also integrate seamlessly with fabrication technologies like 3D printing and CNC machining, facilitating accurate onsite modeling and prefabrication.
In summary, BIM technology enables proactive problem detection through multidisciplinary collaboration, ensuring smooth construction planning and schedule adherence. It resolves common issues such as errors, omissions, clashes, and rework, significantly improving drawing quality.
6. Conclusion
BIM design offers high efficiency, intuitive visualization, and smart capabilities. It meets the challenges of increasingly complex designs, shorter timelines, and digital handovers in substation engineering, while enhancing designers’ ability to convey concepts fully. BIM promotes higher quality, faster project completion, and serves as an effective tool for full lifecycle substation management.
The application of BIM technology in the 3D digital design of the Yulong and Tongli Valve Hall project has built valuable technical expertise. As the digital revolution advances in substation design, ongoing development of designers’ skills and software capabilities will be essential to drive continued progress in the industry.
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