From Offline to
Real-Time Simulation

GridRosetta turns a DIgSILENT PowerFactory (PF) model into an RSCAD draft you can run on RTDS hardware in real time. Buses, transformers, lines, loads, and 52+ IEEE controllers transfer automatically. No manual re-typing. Built at KAUST. Derisking your grid modernization journey.

Launch the Converter See How It Works

80–90%

reduction in model
conversion effort

26+

PowerFactory component
classes mapped

52+

IEEE-standard
controllers supported

ANGLE Lab · KAUST · Energy Mission Aligned

Try the pipeline

Drag a system into the converter

Pick an IEEE reference model to translate end-to-end in your browser. No account, no upload. The conversion runs on a recorded timeline from the real pipeline.

IEEE

9-BUS

9 b · 3 g · 3 l

IEEE

39-BUS NE

39 b · 10 g · 46 l

⇱DROP
HERE

IDLE

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PARSE

waiting…

IDLE

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ANALYZE

waiting…

IDLE

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MAP

waiting…

IDLE

⌘

LAYOUT

waiting…

IDLE

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EMIT

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▯OUTPUT
PENDING

Open in GridRosetta Download package (.zip)

Weeks

Of specialist engineering effort to manually rebuild a PowerFactory model in RSCAD. Format translation, component mapping, layout, and validation are all done by hand per project.

Zero

Automated PF → RSCAD tools exist commercially. RTDS native case conversion only supports PSS/E; custom DSL controllers are silently dropped and topology is lost.

Rising

Smart grid technology deployments demand real-time EMT + HIL for derisking the integration of grid-forming inverters, HVDC, and protection coordination. Offline studies alone are no longer sufficient.

The Framework

Two Layers.
One Automated Pipeline.

GridRosetta combines a live-API conversion engine with rigorous benchmarking to deliver RSCAD models whose steady-state, dynamic, and fault behaviour match the source PowerFactory reference.

Layer 1 · Automation

Live-API Translation Engine

A Python pipeline that interfaces directly with the DIgSILENT scripting API, bypassing the lossy DGS export path. Reads the full object tree, reconstructs the connectivity graph, and emits a complete RSCAD FX draft.

Full PF object-tree access via the Python API, with no DGS round-trip

Unified mapping across 26+ component classes: generators, transformers, lines, loads, VSCs, batteries

Two-path control dispatch: 52+ IEEE-standard controller templates, plus structural DSL reconstruction for custom blocks

Single-line-diagram layout preserved in the RSCAD canvas

Outputs RTFX archive plus RSCAD line-constants (.tli) files

DIgSILENT Python API PyAPI-RTS RSCAD FX

Layer 2 · Validation

Control-Aware Benchmarking

Every converted model passes a quantitative benchmark against its PowerFactory reference: steady state, load change, and short-circuit fault. Results ship with the model so the user never accepts a black-box handover.

Steady-state comparison: bus voltages, active & reactive power, generator outputs

Dynamic response: load-change event, settling behaviour, closed-loop control

Fault waveform: three-phase short-circuit, DC offset, phase voltage trajectories

Control equivalence: IEEE PSS1A, DC1A, TGOV1 and beyond

Benchmarked on IEEE 9-bus and custom grid-forming (GFM) control-based systems

AVR · Governor · PSS GFM / GFL HIL Testing

Architecture

A Five-Stage Translation Pipeline

Each stage addresses one of the three core limitations of legacy DGS-based conversion: incomplete data extraction, missing control logic, and loss of topological fidelity.

Data Acquisition Live PF Python API; full object tree + load-flow results

Component Translation 26+ PF element classes mapped to RSCAD equivalents

Control Translation 52+ IEEE templates, or structural DSL reconstruction for custom blocks

Topology & Layout Frame-level connections + single-line-diagram transfer

Output Generation RTFX archive + TLINE constants + LF initialization

Live PF API, Not DGS

Direct access to the live PowerFactory study session via the Python API avoids the DGS export path entirely. No missing parameters, no placeholder PQ source injections, no tedious case file fiddling.

Control-System Aware

Unified dispatch: IEEE-standard controllers (PSS1A, DC1A, TGOV1, …) map to RSCAD library blocks; non-standard DSL controllers are reconstructed block-by-block from their BlkDef graph or equation form.

Topology-Preserving

Spatial layout is transferred from the PF single-line diagram to the RSCAD canvas. Bus-wire synthesis, component orientation, and hierarchy boxes mirror the source model. No manual redrawing.

Validation Methodology

Benchmarked Against
the PowerFactory Reference

Every GridRosetta translation is validated by running identical disturbance scenarios in both environments and comparing voltage, active power, reactive power, and phase waveforms. Published results cover the IEEE 9-bus benchmark and a custom grid-forming control-based system.

This four-metric validation stack is designed for EMT-to-EMT translation, an area with no dedicated CIGRE or IEEE standard today, filling a clear gap in industry practice for IBR-rich systems.

Steady-State Agreement

Bus voltages, active/reactive power, generator outputs vs. the PF load flow

voltage ≤ 2%

Load-Change Dynamic Response

Active / reactive power trajectory, settling time, steady-state offset

power ≤ 3%

Short-Circuit Fault Waveform

Three-phase bus-bar SC fault, phase-A voltage and current waveforms, DC offset

envelope match

Control-Loop Equivalence

AVR / governor / PSS signal-level match; inverter current/power loops for GFM cases

signal < 5%

Addressable Market

Built for PF Users Running RTDS

Anyone who owns a PowerFactory model and needs it running on RTDS hardware for hardware-in-the-loop testing, controller validation, or grid-code studies.

Transmission System Operators

National grids · ISO/TSOs · operator training simulators

TSOs maintain validated PF planning models and need real-time equivalents for HVDC factory acceptance testing, protection coordination studies, and operator training simulators. Manual conversion diverts scarce specialist engineers for months per project.

Use case: weeks saved per FAT cycle

HVDC & FACTS OEMs

Inverter, HVDC, STATCOM, and protection vendors

OEMs receive customer network models in PF for factory acceptance testing and must rebuild them in RSCAD before FAT can begin. That's a bottleneck on every HVDC project timeline and a recurring source of schedule slip.

Use case: FAT readiness in days

Renewable & IBR Developers

Wind, solar, BESS, grid-forming inverters

Grid-code compliance for IBRs increasingly requires real-time EMT studies against a certified network model. ENTSO-E, NERC, AEMO and Saudi-specific regulators mandate EMT validation for new interconnections, and GridRosetta halves the prep work.

Use case: grid-code EMT studies

Research Institutes & Universities

NREL · EPRI · Fraunhofer IEE · TU Delft · KAUST · CREST

Research projects routinely bridge PF planning studies with RTDS HIL experiments. Model conversion is a bottleneck that delays publications and grant deliverables. Academic licensing and integration with the Grid Cortex digital twin framework are already in flight.

Use case: HIL experimentation at pace

Roadmap

Five Phases Shipped. More On the Way.

From the first prototype in 2024 through today's hosted converter at gridrosetta.com, and ahead into broader simulator support (PSS®E, OPAL-RT models), parallelization, and AI-assisted validation.

Phase 1

Core Translation Engine

Live PF Python API integration · synchronous machines, transformers, lines, loads · RTFX packaging

Shipped 2024

✓

Phase 2

GFM & Advanced Models

Grid-forming converter (UCM_LEV2) · DSL-to-RSCAD control compilation · battery pairing · IEEE exciter / governor / PSS defaults

Shipped 2025

Phase 3

Smart Layout & Topology

Single-line-diagram guided placement · auto transformer orientation · bus-crossover handling · disconnected-port auto-repair

Shipped 2025

✓

Phase 4

GridRosetta Web Interface

Browser-based converter GUI · PF ↔ RSCAD side-by-side comparison · interactive canvas editor · 52+ IEEE controllers assimilated

Shipped 2026

Phase 5

Online Deployment

gridrosetta.com live behind Cloudflare tunnel · self-hosted auth with email + password and optional Google / Microsoft OAuth · per-user job tracking and audit log

Shipped 2026 · Current

✓

Phase 6

Broader Simulator Support

Bidirectional bridges to additional offline platforms · PSS®E .raw / .dyr ingestion · OPAL-RT models · cross-tool model fidelity audit · expanded component equivalence library to keep the translation lossless across vendors

In progress

Phase 7

Parallel Processing & Tiers

Multiple PF workers with load balancing · per-account usage tiers · priority queue for pro subscribers · large-network support on multi-rack RTDS

Planned

Phase 8

Library Expansion

Grid-following (GFL) inverters · HVDC link translation · wind and solar plant templates · FACTS devices (SVC, STATCOM) · protection-relay mapping

Planned

Phase 9

Validation & AI

Automated load-flow comparison against the PF reference · AI-assisted parameter mapping for non-standard controllers · auto test-case generation for benchmark suites

Planned

…

AND BEYOND

Team