Electrical Grid Simulator for Testing Power Quality Analysis Systems

The company

C-PED is a joint research center founded by ROMA TRE University and the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy. The center is involved in power electronics, electrical drives, and electrical grid research projects while supporting both research and teaching activities through Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation platforms.

The Challenges

• Power Quality Monitoring Validation: A remote grid monitoring system needed to be tested and validated under various operating conditions.
• Real Grid Requirements: Traditional testing required access to a real electrical grid with real loads, demanding significant resources, space, and time.
• Development Environment Compatibility: C-PED required a HIL platform fully controlled through National Instruments LabVIEW without introducing new development environments.

The OPAL-RT Solution

• HIL Platform: An OPAL-RT and National Instruments platform based on the NI cRIO-9039 and the OPAL-RT eHS-64 solver.
• Software Integration: The eHS-64 solver was installed on the cRIO FPGA and fully controlled through LabVIEW Real-Time and FPGA technologies.
• Flexible Grid Modeling: Simulink-based electrical grid models with linear and non-linear loads enabled testing under different operating conditions.

The results

• Efficient Validation: The power quality monitor was tested and verified in a simple and effective way.
• Faster Development: Grid parameter analysis software was developed and fine-tuned in significantly less time than with traditional testing methods.
• Safe & Cost-Effective Testing: The HIL platform provided a safe, fast, reliable, and cost-effective development environment.
• Comprehensive Verification: Different load conditions were used to fully verify the grid analyzer.

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