Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of Modern On-Board Power Systems Using Digital Twins

• Published in: 2018 International Symposium on Power Electronics, Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion (SPEEDAM) pp. 118 - 123
• Main Authors: Dufour, Christian, Soghomonian, Zareh, Li, Wei
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.06.2018
• Subjects: Data models; Marine vehicles; Mathematical model; Power system stability; Real-time systems; Testing
• DOI: 10.1109/SPEEDAM.2018.8445302

Simulation has always played an important role in the development, integration and deployment of aircraft, land vehicles and naval ships. Ever-increasing system design complexity also increased the necessity for more stringent testing and integration capabilities of these new topologies. Real-time simulators can be very useful tools to test, validate and integrate these complex devices. Maintenance and subsystem upgrades, common issues in such complex systems, cannot be easily done on the real systems, especially on larger systems like those in navy ships. This is when a real-time digital replica with Hardware-In-the-Loop capability is very useful. This type of system is also known as a 'Digital Twin'. This approach is compatible with model-based design; a design philosophy that is based entirely on simulation models, from the specifications to release and field commissioning. In this paper, we describe the Digital Twin approach and explain it in the context of navy ships. Such systems usually integrate many subsystems, such as traction systems, power generation and auxiliary systems, all connected through various communication links. The test and integration requirements for such vehicle or land systems affect several levels of the control hierarchy; from low-level power electronic converters used for propulsion and auxiliary systems to high-level supervisory controls. In this paper, we will describe a HIL test made on a simplified zonal power system of a navy ship.