Master thesis : Digital twin of a power converter: using hardware-in-the-loop for the design and evaluation of digital control algorithms.

Abstract

Nowadays, renewable energy sources take a larger share in energy production. Power electronics converters are extensively used to optimize energy yield, and interface those renewable energy sources with the electrical grid. As such, industries tend to develop more and more complex controllers for power electronics converters, and there is a need for tools to validate controller design in real-life conditions before implementation. \\

This thesis focuses on one emulation technique called “hardware-in-the-loop” (HIL). HIL devices can be used to simulate the dynamics of power electronics converters in real-time, thanks to their extensive computational capabilities. They can also interface hardware devices with models developed on software. This is especially useful if one wants to validate the design of a controller, once it is deported on a hardware device, to identify any possible implementation issues. \\

The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part highlights the advantages of the HIL technique for validation of controller design. A model of a battery charger is designed, and the switching operations are performed by a controller. The controller is either simulated in the same environment as the battery charger, or deported on a real control board interfaced with the battery charger emulation. The second part highlights the advantages of the HIL technique for the simulation of power electronics converters and demonstrates the reliability of HIL simulation. Therefore, measurements from a real converter from CE+T power products, are compared with HIL simulation data. In order to perform the simulation, the real converter is modeled inside the Typhoon HIL software and the control board of the real converter is interfaced with the HIL device. \\

Finally, the comparison results are discussed and the potential of HIL for future work is evoked.