A modular and scalable control and data acquisition system for power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) amplifiers

  • A modular and scalable control and data acquisition system for power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) amplifiers

Overview

A control and data acquisition system has been designed specifically to support the requirements of high-performance PHIL amplifiers. System nodes can be configured to perform data acquisition and/or control functions, supporting a wide variety of possible control structures (centralised, distributed or hybrid). A real-time simulator (RTS) is interfaced to the system via a fibre optic link; sampled values can be provided to the RTS via this link, and control references communicated to the nodes. System nodes provide an onboard digital interface to up to sixteen peripheral modules. Peripheral modules can be independently designed to support a variety of application-specific inputs (typically analogue voltages and currents) and outputs (typically converter switching and status signals).

Outcomes

Photographs of (left) (a) controller featuring FPGA System-on-Chip and high-speed, low-latency digital communication interfaces, (b) base board for interfacing controller to peripheral modules and ancillary systems, and (right) peripheral modules including (c) a 6-channel 1MSPS isolated ADC module suitable for + – 800 V or + -400 mA inputs, and (d) a three-phase gate drive interface to suit SEMIKUBE inverters.

Key features and advantages

Demonstration of two-node control and measurement system using TDS real-time simulator (left) and 120 Vac 10A converter prototype (centre).
  • Data acquisition and control rates up to 1 MHz.
  • High-bandwidth, low-latency fibre-optic digital communication between nodes and to real-time simulator (up to 6.25 Gbos).
  • PGA supports custom modulation and real-time signal processing with deterministic timing down to 5 ns.
  • Modular, scalable, flexible, and reconfigurable for deployment in large-scale converters and systems.
  • Peripheral modules permit targeting to specific application and system requirements with minimal redevelopment work.

For further detail: M A H Broadmeadow G R Walker and G E Ledwich “Modular and scalable control and data acquisition system for power hardware in the loop (PHIL) amplifiers.” in The Journal of Engineering, vol. 2019, no. 17, pp. 3655-3659, 2019. doi: 10.1049/joe.2018.8035

Funding

Amount:

Duration:

Partners:

  • Defence Science Technology (DST) Group