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REM Lab Projects : Real-Time Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) Simulation
Real-Time Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) Simulation is
increasingly recognized as an essential tool for engineering design. Real-time
HIL simulation replaces the emulated hardware under test or control logic in the
simulation model with real hardware that interacts with the computer models.
This increases the realism of the simulation and provides access to hardware
features currently not available in software-only simulation models.
Topics under study:
* Design and Analysis of the Coupling Interface
The interface is used to seamlessly connect the hardware under test and the
virtual system.
Figure 1. General Structure of the HIL Systems
* Stability Analysis of the HIL System
The investigation of the stability issues related to the delay introduced by the
signal processing, A/D and D/A conversion and model integration.
Implementation:
* Software Structure
Virtual Test Bed (VTB) and its real-time extension (RTVTB) are adopted to
establish the desired simulation environment for Real-Time HIL experiments.
Different from the commercial real-time systems, RTVTB is completely implemented
with public domain software.
Figure 2.
Software Structure of RTVTB
* Hardware Structure
With RTVTB, Real-Time HIL experiment can be implemented using standard PC and
off-the-shelf data acquisition devices. Currently, there are two platforms for
conducting Real-Time HIL experiment.
I. National Instrument VXI-1200 FlexFrame
II. Dell Precision 450 dual processor workstation
Applications:
* A Tool for Automatic Identification and Validation of Simulation Models
Using the Real-Time
HIL platform, an integrated system identification framework for obtaining and
validating real-time system models is designed.
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| Figure 3. Structure of the System Identification Platform | Figure 4. Structure of the Real-Time Model Verification Platform |
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| Figure 5. System Identification Platform | Figure 6. Real-Time Model Verification Platform |
* Testing of digital controllers using Real-Time HIL Simulation
Using VTB and RTVTB, an innovative and complete process for rapid design,
prototyping, and testing of digital controllers is proposed. As an illustration,
a digital controller for an H-bridge inverter is designed. Here, an Infineon
C167 Microcontroller is used.
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| Figure 7. VTB Schematic of the Whole System | Figure 8. Structure of the Real-Time HIL Simulation Platform |
Figure 9. The Real-Time HIL Simulation Platform
Lead researchers:
Xin Wu, Ph.D. Student
Hernan Figueroa, Ph.D. Student
