Distributed Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing Using a Grid-Forming Converter as Power Interface

Energies, vol. 13, pp. 3770

Abstract

This paper presents an approach to extend the capabilities of smart grid laboratories through the concept of Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHiL) testing by re-purposing existing grid-forming converters. A simple and cost-effective power interface, paired with a remotely located Digital Real-time Simulator (DRTS), facilitates Geographically Distributed Power Hardware Loop (GD-PHiL) in a quasi-static operating regime. In this study, a DRTS simulator was interfaced via the public internet with a grid-forming ship-to-shore converter located in a smart-grid testing laboratory, approximately 40 km away from the simulator. A case study based on the IEEE 13-bus distribution network, an on-load-tap-changer (OLTC) controller and a controllable load in the laboratory demonstrated the feasibility of such a setup. A simple compensation method applicable to this multi-rate setup is proposed and evaluated. Experimental results indicate that this compensation method significantly enhances the voltage response, whereas the conservation of energy at the coupling point still poses a challenge. Findings also show that, due to inherent limitations of the converter’s Modbus interface, a separate measurement setup is preferable. This can help achieve higher measurement fidelity, while simultaneously increasing the loop rate of the PHiL setup.

Authors 7

1. Steffen Vogel corresponding Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

2. Ha Thi Nguyen

   Technical University of Denmark

   Affiliation as printed

   Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

3. Marija Stevic Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

4. T. Jensen

   Technical University of Denmark

   Affiliation as printed

   Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

5. Kai Heussen

   Technical University of Denmark

   Affiliation as printed

   Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

6. Vetrivel Subramaniam Rajkumar

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands

7. Antonello Monti Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany