Mechatronics

The OP8710 High Voltage Interface Panel (HVIP) has the capability to provide digital signals of up to 250 VDC to equipment external to the Opal-RT Simulator.

Contact sales for more Info \| Request a Live Online DemoThis is a request to schedule an Online Demonstration of High Voltage Interface Panel (HVIP) - OP8710 with an Opal-RT Representative. \| Share Product

Real-Time Computer Simulation Helps Train Performance

OPAL-RT Europe designed the real-time computer simulator that ESIEE Amiens uses to simulate the interaction between catenaries and pantographs. A team of engineers is currently using the simulator to advise railway industries seeking to improve high speed train performance by optimizing electrical energy transmission thanks to a greater understanding of physical phenomenon such as contact loss, mechanical faults or atmospheric conditions.

March 23, 2011 - Montreal, Quebec

Bike wheel with an electric motor running on a Hardware-in-the-loop Simulator

Alan Soltis, Automotive Program Manager for Opal-RT Technologies, demonstrates a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulator at the SAE 2011 Hybrid Vehicle Technologies Symposium in Anaheim, CA.

February 23, 2011 - Anaheim, CA, USA

The new OP5600 Chassis adds advanced monitoring capabilities and scalable I/O and processor power to OPAL-RT's line of real-time digital simulator systems including eMEGAsim, eDRIVEsim and eFLYsim.

Built using lower cost, high availability commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) components, the OP5600's modular and flexible design can be fully customized to meet specific I/O requirements and can be easily expanded as needed.

Key Features

Contains a powerful real-time target computer equipped with up to 12 3.3-GHz processor cores with the real-time operating system of your choice including QNX and Red Hat Linux.
Two user-programmable FPGA-based I/O management options available, powered by the Xilinx Spartan-3 or more powerful Virtex-6 FPGA processor.
Available expansion slots accommodate up to 8 signal conditioning and analog /digital converters modules with 16 or 32 channels each for a total of fast 128 analog or 256 discrete or a mix of analog and digital signals.
Acts as a single-target system or can be networked into a multiple-target PC cluster for complex applications capable of implementing large models with more than 3000 I/O channels and a time step below 25 micros.
Offers versatile monitoring on the front side, with RJ45 and mini-BNC, and standard connectors such as DB37 on the back side to connect user equipment for HIL simulation and testing. Status LEDs display FPGA synchronization status.

More Key Features

Contains up to 6 PCIe slot to connect a broad range of PCI and PCIe communication interfaces such as CAN, ARINC, MIL STD 1553.
Comes with the widest range of customizable signal generation and signal processing functions such as PWM, quadrature decoders and encoders, time-stamped DIO, frequency and duty measurement.

Download the
OP5600
User Manual.

Related Systems:
- eDRIVEsim
- eMEGAsim
(view more under the
Related Products tab)

This is a request to schedule an online demonstration of OP5600 off-the-shelf Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulator with an Opal-RT Representative.

Ford Motor Company: Hybrid Driveline Design & Control

One of the most popular hybrid vehicles on the road today is the Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Today’s Power System Simulation Challenge: High-performance, Scalable, Upgradable,Affordable COTS-Based Real-Time Digital Simulators

Publication date : Dec 2010
Paper File : India Conference 2011_LAG_final.pdf

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Author(s)

Luc-André Gregoire, Laurence A. Snider, Jean Bélanger, Girish Nanjundaiah,

Abstract

This paper describes today's power system simulation challenge. Simulator technology has evolved from physical/analogue simulators (HVDC simulators, TNA’s) for electromagnetic transients and protection and control studies, to hybrid TNA/Analogue/Digital simulators with the capability of studying electro-mechanical transient behaviour [1], to fully digital real-time simulators. Today’s global power system infrastructure is rapidly changing towards increasingly distributed generation/distribution systems, and this transformation mandates expanded use of power electronic devices: HVDC, FACTS and interfacing devices for dc and variable-frequency power sources (photovoltaic, wind generation).

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Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) to reduce the development cost of power electronic converters

Publication date : Jan 2011
Paper File : IICPE2010-HIL_multilevel_rectifier.pdf

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Author(s)

Luc-André Gregoire, Kamal Al-Haddad, Girish Nanjundaiah,

Abstract

This paper proposes a validation methodology for implementing solutions to challenges involved with power electronic converter design. Typically, the design process consists of first simulating the converter and then implementing it on hardware. Here, an intermediate step is added where the controller is connected to a real-time simulator before being connected to real hardware. This allows for virtual testing of scenarios that cannot be conducted with physical hardware without risking damage to the hardware. This technique will be demonstrated by implementing a new method of control, the drifting PWM, for a multilevel packed U-cell (PUC) converter. The drifting PWM allows for a slight variation in the switching state so that regulation of the auxiliary capacitor can be achieved. This method will be simulated offline and in real-time to demonstrate its long term reliability. Once fully functional, the controller is implemented on an FPGA board, from which it will control the real converter. Simulation results, as well as experimental results, are presented and compared. It is demonstrated that the HIL technique is a very effective tool for designing multilevel converter controllers.

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Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of Hybrid Vehicle Motor Drives at Ford Motor Company

Publication date : Oct 2010
Paper File : VPPC_2010-95-27745-final.pdf

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Author(s)

Linxiang Sun, Ji Wu, Christian Dufour,

Abstract

This paper describes the usage of Hardware-In-the-Loop technologies at Ford Motor Company for the development of hybrid vehicle cars. At the heart of these HIL tests are models of electric motor drives. Several challenges exist in executing these models in real-time, especially in faulty or uncontrolled modes. This paper describes the key features of these drive models, as well as examples of HIL tests conducted with these models by Ford Motor Company.

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The What, Where and Why of Real-Time Simulation

Publication date : Oct 2010
Paper File : PES-GM-Tutorial_04 - Real Time Simulation.pdf

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Author(s)

Philippe Venne, Jean-Nicolas Paquin, Jean Bélanger,

Abstract

Simulation tools have been widely used for the design and improvement of electrical systems since the midtwentieth century. The evolution of simulation tools has progressed in step with the evolution of computing technologies. In recent years, computing technologies have improved dramatically in performance and become widely available at a steadily decreasing cost. Consequently, simulation tools have also seen dramatic performance gains and steady cost decreases.Researchers and engineers now have access to affordable, high performance simulation tools that were previously too costprohibitive, except for the largest manufacturers and utilities. This paper introduces the role and advantages of using real-time simulation by answering three undamental questions: what is real-time simulation; why is it needed and where does it best fit.The recent evolution of real-time simulators is summarized. The importance of model validation, mixed use of real-time and offline modes of simulation and test coverage in complex systems is discussed.

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Real-Time Simulation and Control of Reluctance Motor Drives for High Speed Operation with Reduced Torque Ripple

Publication date : Oct 2010
Paper File : EPE-PEMC-2010-Opal-RT-FINAL.pdf

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Author(s)

Minh C. Ta, Christian Dufour,

Abstract

This paper presents real-time simulation results of a switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive with a novel Torque Distribution Function (TDF) for high-speed applications, in order to reduce torque ripple. The SRM is fed by a three-phase unidirectional power converter having three legs, each of which consist of two IGBTs and two freewheeling diodes. The SRM model incorporates all nonlinearities between excitation currents, rotor position and flux linkages. For the purpose of control SRM drives, an improvement of the TDF method is proposed for high-speed applications, in order to reduce torque ripple. The real-time simulation of the drive is conducted on the RT-LAB realtime simulation platform. Since the converter is currentcontrolled, simulator latency is critical to achieving good accuracy and avoiding current overshoot. The paper demonstrates that this type of drive with simple hysteretic current control can be simulated in real-time at a time-step of 15μs, with good accuracy. The paper also introduces FPGA-based simulation technology required to test advanced algorithms like TDF.

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