scholarly journals LOCOFloat: A Low-Cost Floating-Point Format for FPGAs.: Application to HIL Simulators

Electronics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Sanchez ◽  
Angel de Castro ◽  
Maria Sofía Martínez-García ◽  
Javier Garrido
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Power Converter ◽  
Buck Converter ◽  
Digital Design ◽  
Floating Point ◽  
Hardware In The Loop ◽  
Time Simulation ◽  
Real Time Applications ◽  
Plant Power

One of the main decisions when making a digital design is which arithmetic is going to be used. The arithmetic determines the hardware resources needed and the latency of every operation. This is especially important in real-time applications like HIL (Hardware-in-the-loop), where a real-time simulation of a plant—power converter, mechanical system, or any other complex system—is accomplished. While a fixed-point gets optimal implementations, using considerably fewer resources and allowing smaller simulation steps, its use is very restricted to very specific applications, as its design effort is quite high. On the other side, IEEE-754 floating-point may have resolution problems in case of the 32-bit version, and excessive hardware usage in case of the 64-bit version. This paper presents LOCOFloat, a low-cost floating-point format designed for FPGA applications. Its key features are soft normalization of the results, using significand and exponent fields in two’s complement. This paper shows the implementation of addition, subtraction and multiplication of the proposed format. Both IEEE-754 versions and LOCOFloat are compared in this paper, implementing a HIL model of a buck converter. Although the application example is a HIL simulator, other applications could take benefit from the proposed format. Results show that LOCOFloat is as accurate as 64-bit floating-point, while reducing the use of DSPs blocks by 84 % .

scholarly journals A Hardware-in-the-Loop-on-Chip Development System for Teaching and Development of Dynamic Systems

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 801
Author(s):  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Linfeng Sun ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
Haining Ma ◽  
Seiji Hashimoto
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Power Converter ◽  
Buck Converter ◽  
Hardware In The Loop ◽  
Control Logic ◽  
Prototype Development ◽  
Simulation Engine ◽  
On Chip ◽  
Close Loop Control

This paper proposes a low-cost on-chip Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) platform for teaching and fast prototyping of dynamic systems. A dual-core digital signal controller (DSC)-based solution is proposed for the HIL system. CPU core A, as the simulation engine, is dedicated to circuit and system simulation. The actuation and control logic are implemented in CPU core B, which is working as the control engine. Inter-processor communication is used to interchange variables between the CPUs. The digital-to-analog converter and digital outputs are used to send the duty cycle and system state variables to the oscilloscope for users’ visual feedback. Two typical systems with fast and slow dynamics are modeled and implemented in the simulation engine. Under the excitation generated by the control engine, system dynamics can be observed for studying purposes. Close-loop control for a buck converter is also demonstrated on the developed prototype, where both input voltage and load variations performance are tested. The test results indicate that the digital simulator can well emulate the average small signal model of a power converter in open-loop and close-loop scenario. Meanwhile, the control parameters can be modified for system performance evaluation and education purposes. The proposed low-cost HIL system can be easily applied to the engineering teaching as well as fast prototype development phase of product design.

scholarly journals Real-Time Hardware in the Loop Simulation Methodology for Power Converters Using LabVIEW FPGA

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonel Estrada ◽  
Nimrod Vázquez ◽  
Joaquín Vaquero ◽  
Ángel de Castro ◽  
Jaime Arau
Keyword(s):  
Power Electronics ◽  
Real Time ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Power Converter ◽  
Buck Converter ◽  
Voltage Source ◽  
Hardware In The Loop ◽  
Power Electronics Converters ◽  
Labview Fpga ◽  
Hil Simulation

Nowadays, the use of the hardware in the loop (HIL) simulation has gained popularity among researchers all over the world. One of its main applications is the simulation of power electronics converters. However, the equipment designed for this purpose is difficult to acquire for some universities or research centers, so ad-hoc solutions for the implementation of HIL simulation in low-cost hardware for power electronics converters is a novel research topic. However, the information regarding implementation is written at a high technical level and in a specific language that is not easy for non-expert users to understand. In this paper, a systematic methodology using LabVIEW software (LabVIEW 2018) for HIL simulation is shown. A fast and easy implementation of power converter topologies is obtained by means of the differential equations that define each state of the power converter. Five simple steps are considered: designing the converter, modeling the converter, solving the model using a numerical method, programming an off-line simulation of the model using fixed-point representation, and implementing the solution of the model in a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This methodology is intended for people with no experience in the use of languages as Very High-Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) for Real-Time Simulation (RTS) and HIL simulation. In order to prove the methodology’s effectiveness and easiness, two converters were simulated—a buck converter and a three-phase Voltage Source Inverter (VSI)—and compared with the simulation of commercial software (PSIM® v9.0) and a real power converter.

Low-cost hardware-in-the-loop for real-time simulation of electric machines and electric drive

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 1679-1685
Author(s):  
Renan F. Bastos ◽  
Fernando B. Silva ◽  
Cassius R. Aguiar ◽  
Guilherme Fuzato ◽  
Ricardo Q. Machado
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Electric Drive ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Electric Machines ◽  
Hardware In The Loop ◽  
Real Time Simulation ◽  
Time Simulation

scholarly journals Hardware-in-the-loop simulation of high-speed maglev transportation five-segment propulsion system based on dSPACE

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-72
Author(s):  
Feng Qin ◽  
Ying Lin ◽  
Diqiang Lu
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Real Time ◽  
High Power ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Power Converter ◽  
Simulation System ◽  
Hardware In The Loop ◽  
Real Time Simulation ◽  
Time Simulation ◽  
Propulsion Control

Aim: For exploring and testing the key technology of high-speed maglev transportation propulsion control system, this paper designs and establishes a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) real-time simulation system of the high-speed maglev transportation five-segment propulsion system. Materials and methods of the studies: According to the route conditions and propulsion segment division of Shanghai maglev demonstration and operation line, the real-time simulation platform based on dSPACE multiprocessor systems is implemented. The simulation system can achieve the functional simulation of all the high-power related equipment in the 5-segment area, including 8 sets of high-power converter units, 2 sets of medium-power converter units, 2 sets of low-power converter units, five-segment trackside switch stations and long-stator linear synchronous motors. The mathematical models of linear motors and converters are built in MATLAB/Simulink and System Generator, after compiling, they can be downloaded and executed in Field Programmable Logic Array (FPGA). All the interfaces connecting the simulation system to the propulsion control system physical equipment use real physical components as in the field, such as analog I/O, digital I/O, optical signals and Profibus. Results: By using CPU+FPGA hardware configuration, the simulation steps are greatly shortened and the response speed and accuracy of real-time simulation system are improved. The simulation system can simulate multiple operating modes such as multi-segment, multi-vehicle, double-track, double-feeding, step-by-step stator section changeover, and so on. The simulation results show that the maximum speed of the simulation system can reach 500 km/h. Conclusion: This HIL system can provide detailed real-time on-line test and verification of high speed maglev propulsion control system.

Low-Cost High-Speed Techniques for Real-Time Simulation of Power Electronic Systems

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Crosbie ◽  
J. J. Zenor ◽  
R. Bednar ◽  
D. Word ◽  
N. G. Hingorani
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Electronic Systems ◽  
Power Electronic ◽  
Real Time Simulation ◽  
Time Simulation

Control of a multi-functional inverter in an AC microgrid – Real-time simulation with control hardware in the loop

2019 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 201-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalmo C. Silva Júnior ◽  
Janaína G. Oliveira ◽  
Pedro M. de Almeida ◽  
Cecilia Boström
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Hardware In The Loop ◽  
Real Time Simulation ◽  
Time Simulation ◽  
Ac Microgrid
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