Reduced-Order Model of Power Converters to Optimize Power Hardware-In-the-Loop Technology in Dc-Distributed Systems

Abstract: The Power Hardware-In-the-Loop (PHIL) technology provides a powerful tool for testing scenarios where there is a high-power interchange, in which the performance of field tests can be very complex or expensive. When performing PHIL simulations of systems with a high number of components, such as DC-distributed systems on a ship or aircraft, the use of switched or average models of the converters can require the use of expensive commercial real-time digital simulators (RTDS) reducing the advantages of these technology. This paper is focused on the proposal of a reduced order model of converters to be able to perform PHIL analysis of Dc-distributed systems using low resources of the required real-time digital simulator. The paper validates that the proposed reduced-order model is able to determine the stability on the Dc-distributed system in comparison with more complex converter models. Moreover, a comparison between both models regarding the required resources in the implementation in a commercial RTDS platform is performed to validate the benefits of the proposed model in performing PHIL analysis of large power distribution systems.