P-HIL Testing Platform
P-HIL Testing Platform
Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (P-HIL) platforms allow you to combine a real-time power grid model with physical power hardware. This architecture makes it possible to subject a real converter to realistic grid conditions, without the need to connect it directly to a physical network and without the risks and limitations of a conventional laboratory. In contrast to purely digital testing (control HIL) or real network testing, P-HIL platforms make it possible to:
Replay severe network events without compromising equipment or infrastructure.
Run repeatable, comparable, and traceable validation campaigns.
Test devices under scenarios that would be difficult or impossible to generate in a physical environment, such as failure sequences or abrupt changes in system topology.
Reduce costs and development time by avoiding travel, network interruptions or large power installations.
These features make P-HIL platforms a particularly useful tool for industry that needs to validate converters, control strategies or regulatory compliance under realistic and controlled conditions, while maintaining safety and efficiency in testing.
The P-HIL platform of Mondragon University's Electricity Networks group is designed with these objectives in mind. Specifically, the system combines a grid emulator (GEMU) and a device under test (DUT), allowing validation campaigns to be carried out in a fully controlled environment.
The network emulator reproduces in real time typical events of the power grid: dips and surges, frequency variations, harmonics, unbalances and fast transients. This allows the robustness of the DUT to be analyzed against adverse or out-of-specification conditions before its deployment in the network.
- The real-time simulation runs on a Speedgoat Performance P3 system, which ensures low latency and precise synchronization with the power hardware. Semikron SKS-SL 20 converters are used for both the GEMU and the DUT, providing a homogeneous, modular and easily reconfigurable platform.
The interaction between the digital grid model and the physical system is done by current feedback: the current generated by the inverter is measured and sent to the model in real time, ensuring stable coupling even during severe transients. This scheme allows advanced control strategies to be tested with high fidelity.
The DUT can be configured to emulate storage units, distributed generation sources or active loads, evaluating its integration into networks of different topologies.
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