On Board Power Electronics Real-time Simulation, Verification and Validation

Martin BelangerAmerican Sale Managermartin.belanger@opal-rt.com 1

FROM IMAGINATION… TO REAL-TIME

Fully digital simulators for MIL, RCP, HIL, PHIL Leader in Power Electronics, Electrical Drives

and Power Systems applications Integrated with MATLAB/SIMULINK COTS HW and SW based Compatible with Software Industry standards

OPAL-RT TECHNOLOGIES

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Established in 1997, HQ in Montreal, CA Offices, subsidiaries and distributors worldwide Over 160 Employees More than 600 customers More than 20% of turnover reinvested in R&D

FROM IMAGINATION… TO REAL-TIME

Why Power Electronics Real-time Simulation, Verification and Validation

• Early design validation• Simulation + Prototyping

• Testing on the real system is not always practical

• Reduce the risk of damaging equipment while testing

• Software regression testing

• Faster time to market & improved reliability

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“Sorry, the controller was not tested to handle IGBT failure…!”

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On Board Power System Overview

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Application Example – HIL Testing and RCP Testing

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• Testing the controller against a virtual system

Firing PulsesMeasurements

Controller

Analog Outputs Digital Inputs

Simulator

Firing PulsesMeasurements

Controller Con

trol L

ogic

Simulator

Digital OutputsAnalog InputsFiring PulsesMeasurements

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HIL Application Example

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Firing PulsesMeasurements

Controller

• Designing & testing a power electronics controller

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Fixed-Step Computing for Real-Time

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• A Typical Simulation Step

Inputs / Outputs Model Computation

time

Step size0 us 50 us

Waiting for next step

I/O …

Model outputs

• Execution must be deterministic

• Simulation must be as real as possible

• Simulation time must follow the “real time”• Controllers expects a precise I/O update

FROM IMAGINATION… TO REAL-TIME 8

Integration of new converter topologies into the ship / MEA on-board system

New measuring and protection devices: sophisticatedand communicating

Complex control laws for the optimal control of electrical systems (converters, electrical machines, …)

Challenges of Electric Marine World and More Electrical Aircraft

Helping academic and industrial researchers to developinnovative electrical systems

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Tests and Validation

Real-time simulation best way to test and validate theseconverters

Instead of a physical prototype a virtual replica of an airplane or ship’s on-board power supply equipped with power converters

Simulation makes possible the emulation of detailed converteroperations to test and validate different control systems

Aviation

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3. REAL-TIME SIMULATION: BENEFITS

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FROM IMAGINATION… TO REAL-TIME 11

Multi-Level, MV, HV Converter

“All Electrical” Vehicles

AC-DC, DC-AC, DC-DC Power Converter

Electrical Drive

Permanentmagnet motor

DC-DC converter

10 kHz DC-DC converters

80kW

240 -380 V

2600

uF

5200

uF

240- .400 V

Battery circuit Fuel cell circuit

CPU 1: (Ts= 10 us)

CPU 2: (Ts= 20 us)

N

S

PWM inverter

FPU FPUFPU Digital OUT

Digital IN

i550mH vfuel_cellθmotor imotorVuvwduty cycle

Motor controller

EV/HEV/PHEV/Fuel CellEnergy Storage Systems

Drive Applications

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Hardware: Real-time Simulators

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Host PCModel Edition

Simulation managementGraphical interface

RT SimulatorModel Execution

Data loggingI/O management

EthernetLink between host PC and

simulator

FPGA & I/O boards

Interface with real devicesMultiple-core CPU

Model computation

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FPGA simulation

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Controller

RT S

imul

ator

CPU simulation

Analog outputs Digital inputs

FPGA(I/O management)

CPU

Time step 15 μs

≈ 30 μs ≈ 2 μs

Analog outputs Digital inputs

FPGA

CPU

FPGA simulation

Controller

RT S

imul

ator

Time step 0.25 μs

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Conclusion

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News laws aiming at reducing polluting emissions will force ships and aircraft to be more and more electrical

Increasingly complex and numerous power converters

Testing and validation through real-time simulation is essential CPU simulation with SSN for decoupling the model without artificial delay FPGA simulation with eHS to make it more user-friendly and performant

FROM IMAGINATION… TO REAL-TIME

Thank you for your attentionQuestions?

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http://www.opal-rt.com/webinarentry/webinar-hil-testing-electric-transportation

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