Performance analysis of the augmented wireless sensor network testbed

This paper presents a realistic generator of power quality (PQ) disturbances developed using real time—hardware in the loop (RT‐HIL) technologies; the aim is to reduce the gap between the PQ mathematical theory and its practical application by improving the technical skills of students through the use of instruments in a controlled and safe laboratory environment. The implementation of this interactive teaching tool in a graduate level course has significantly enhanced the communication process between the teacher and students and thus, resulted in a highly effective teaching methodology. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:391–402, 2015; View this article online atwileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI10.1002/cae.21609

Robust nonlinear control of regenerative fuel cell, supercapacitor, battery and wind based direct current microgrid

Primarily this paper investigates the key functions that should be carried out by a master distributed generator (DG) that adopts the master-slave control approach within a microgrid. Grid-connected operation, islanding detection, islanded operation, load shedding, phase locking and grid re-synchronization are key functions of the master DG that need to be executed in a logical and sequential manner. This sequence of tasks/functions are put together to develop a control flow chart called the master control algorithm. Secondarily, the investigation leads to the development of a simple SRF-q (synchronous reference frame quadrature component) based re-synchronization procedure. The proposed re-synchronization technique achieves a seamless re-synchronization which is of interest for microgrid-grid re-connection. This paper first details the control structure during the grid connected and islanded modes. Then, the proposed master control algorithm and the SRF-q re-synchronization procedures are verified by simulation as well as real-time hardware in the loop (HIL) experimental study.

Model predictive control for single phase active power filter using modified packed U-cell (MPUC5) converter

The questions that arise in analyzing and designing new energy systems originate from unprecedented characteristics, as the volatility of some renewable sources, as well as from technologies newly applied to energy systems, as multi-agent systems, and from the interconnection of energy grids of different nature. Answering these questions requires the support of new simulation and testing tools. In this framework, the infrastructure of our laboratory is presented, together with sample projects enabled by the Real Time simulation and Hardware in the Loop capability of our platforms.

Since the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) bring forth many innovative applications in scientific, civilian, and military fields, the development of UAVs is rapidly growing every year. The on-board autopilot that reliably performs attitude and guidance control is a vital part for out-of-sight flights. However, the control law in autopilot is designed according to a simplified plant model in which the dynamics of real hardware are usually not taken into consideration. It is a necessity to develop a test-bed including real servos to make real-time control experiments for prototype autopilots, so called hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation. In this paper on the basis of the graphical application software LabVIEW, the real-time HIL simulation system is realized efficiently by the virtual instrumentation approach. The proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller in autopilot for the pitch angle control loop is experimentally determined by the classical Ziegler-Nichols tuning rule and exhibits good transient and steady-state response in real-time HIL simulation. From the results the differences between numerical simulation and real-time HIL simulation are also clearly presented. The effectiveness of HIL simulation for UAV autopilot design is definitely confirmed

Author(s): Fu, Zhe; Liu, Hao, PhD; Lu, Xiao-Yun, PhD | Abstract: Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) are similar to other automated vehicles with the distinguishing difference being that CAVs obtain information about road conditionsdirectly from other vehicles and infrastructure (e.g., traffic signals, road sensors) rather than relying solely on onboard sensors. Different CAV technologies are currently being tested and evaluated to assess the prospects for future implementation. These tests involve moving CAV-equipped vehicles on a physical test track and recording how the vehicles operate under different traffic conditions (Figure 1). Since it is difficult and expensive to recreate multiple real-world driving conditions on a single test track, virtual environments are typically used to simulate different traffic conditions, such as traffic signal operation, actions by other vehicles on the road, and other scenarios. These virtual hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests can expedite CAV performance evaluation and inform future system implementation; however, existing HIL test systems often lack the ability to manage large amounts of test data, which limits the value and use of these tests.

This paper presents a method for modeling and real-time (RT) hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation of the multi-active bridge (MAB)-based cascaded solid-state transformer (SST). These types of circuits are challenging for the realm of RT HIL simulation testing due to their high switching frequency, large circuit size, and the high number of switches. The proposed method uses an equivalent circuit and switching function approach to model MAB-based SST. The model is implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and achieves time steps ranging from 130 ns to 370 ns, depending on the circuit size and allows switching frequencies ranging up to 150 kHz. To demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of the model, a multi-rate HIL RT test bench is developed. A 3-phase three-stage ac-ac system including 100 kHz 5-winding MABs is considered as a case study. To test both HIL and rapid control prototyping simulation, the plant and controller run on two independent real-time simulators, and fiber optic cables are established to exchange measurements and gating pulses. The developed test bench showed high model fidelity and real-time performance in various circuit conditions.

In this paper, the set up and demonstration of a real-time controller based on the IEEE Std. 1547 for interconnection of distributed generation (DG) sources to the electric utility grid is presented. The case studies described are based on the philosophy of real-time (RT) hardware in the loop (HIL) simulation. The RT-HIL technique is capable of providing insight into the performance of both the system with the DG as well as the external hardware controller. The results of a real-time controller concept demonstration may be useful in understanding the recommendations of the IEEE Std. 1547 and analyzing the system impact of the interconnection of DGs.

The real-time (RT) hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation-based testing is getting popular for power systems and power electronics applications. The HIL testing provides the interactive environment between the actual power system components like control and protection devices and simulated power system networks including different communication protocols. Therefore, the results of the RT simulation and HIL testing before the actual implementation in the field are generally more acceptable than offline simulations. This paper reviews the HIL testing methods and applications in the recent literature and presents a step-by-step documentation of a new HIL testing setup for a specific case study. The case study evaluates real-time implementation of previously proposed communication-dependent logically selective adaptive protection algorithm of AC microgrids using HIL testing of IEC 61850 generic object-oriented substation event (GOOSE) protocol. The RT model of AC microgrid including the converter-based distributed energy resources and battery storage along with IEC 61850 GOOSE protocol implementation is created in MATLAB/Simulink and RT-LAB software using OPAL-RT simulator platform. Local area network (LAN) at the laboratory acts as IEC 61850 station bus for exchanging GOOSE Boolean signals between the RT target and the actual digital relay. The evaluation of the round-trip delay using the RT simulation has been performed. It is found that the whole process of fault detection, isolation and adaptive setting using Ethernet communication is possible within the standard low voltage ride through curve maintaining the seamless transition to the islanded mode. The signal monitoring inside the relay is suggested to avoid false tripping of the relay.

The models used to simulate an engine, driveline, vehicle, and tire/road-surface models are described. Several control units was linked together to provide a generic real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation is described. The HITL simulation structure and models were designed generically so that they can be utilized for developing a variety of control systems. Generic real-time HITL simulation can use analytical and experimental data, accepts vehicle test parameters as input, and provides real-time, portable dynamic simulation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Image-based metric measurement has been widely used in industry for the past decade due to the recent advancement in processing power and also the unobtrusiveness of this method. In particular, this method is gaining attention in the realm of real-time detection, classification, and inspection of vehicles used in intelligent transportation systems for law enforcement. These systems have proven themselves as a plausible competition to under-the-pavement loop sensors. In this paper, we analyze the sensitivity in image-based metric measurement for vehicles’ wheel base estimation. Results lead to a simple guideline for calculating the optimal configuration yielding the highest resolution and accuracy. More specifically, we address the sensitivity of the metric measurements to the depth (i.e., the distance between the camera and the vehicle) and also internal calibration parameters of the visible-light imaging system (i.e., camera’s intrinsic parameters). We assumed a pinhole projection model with added barrel effect, aka, lens distortion. A 3D video simulation was developed and used as a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbed for verification and validation purposes. Through a simulated environment, three case studies were conducted to verify and validate theoretical data from which we concluded that the error due lens distortion accounted for 0.014% of the total error whereas the uncertainty in the depth of the vehicle with respect to the location of the camera accounted for 99.8% of the total error.

With increasing of the complexity and size of today's embedded systems, verification of the hardware and embedded software has become the critical challenge in the development process. Safety related systems, such as automotive, railways and medical, require even more detailed and documented process for quality assessment, and thus massive tests spanning billions of cycles. Meeting this challenge requires multilateral, advanced verification technologies delivering the highest performance possible to accelerate the verification process. A step towards system test automation and acceleration is real time hardware emulation. There are numerous approaches, related to it, generally called hardware in the loop (HIL). Some of them aim to emulate the target microcontrollers, others - the attached peripherals. In this paper we present multi-microcontroller system that emulates different peripheral types. Using an example use-case from the automotive industry (automotive seat heater) are discussed the possible emulation speeds, synchronization, and the difference between the emulation and the real system setup.

Here, this paper presents a novel battery model parameterization method using actual field measurement and manufacturer datasheet for real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications. It is critical that real-time HIL models can accurately reproduce field test results so that tests can be conducted on HIL testbeds instead of in the field. In the past, numerical heuristic optimization algorithms were often used to derive parameters for battery models. However, the deterministic algorithms often reach a locally optimal solution and stochastic heuristic searching strategies suffer from low searching efficiency. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a global-local searching enhanced genetic algorithm (GL-SEGA). By applying the generalized opposition-based learning mechanism, GL-SEGA can efficiently explore the global solution space. By using the trust-region-reflective method to perform the local search, the GL-SEGA can improve the accuracy and convergence in its local exploitations. Field measurements and manufactory datasheets are used to test and validate the accuracy and robustness of the GL-SEGA algorithm.

Based on the necessity to improve the fabrication and assembly of a gravimetric dosing system, an automated testing system, based on Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) simulation, has been developed to assess its Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT). The developed testing system consists of (i) a limited real-time HiL simulation and interface implemented with off-the-shelf components, (ii) a user interface for defining the test automated execution, and (iii) a verification engine for the automated collection and validation of the test. Although experimental, the adopted testing system architecture proved sufficient for the specified test procedures, while the modularity of the implementation could prove beneficial for further applications. The proposed setup is able to recreate the real system behaviour along the necessary process parameters, which was proofed by computing the correlation coefficients between real-world data and the simulation.