An Event-Based Synchronization Framework for Controller Hardware-in-the-loop Simulation of Electric Railway Power Electronics Systems

Abstract

The Controller Hardware_in_the_loop (CHIL) simulation is gaining popularity as a cost_effective, efficient, and reliable tool in the design and development process of fast_growing electrified transportation power converters. However, it is challenging to implement the conventional CHIL simulations on the railway power converters with complex topologies and high switching frequencies due to strict real_time constraints. Therefore, this paper proposes an event-based synchronization CHIL (ES_CHIL) framework for high_fidelity simulation of these electrified railway power converters. Different from conventional CHIL simulations synchronized through the time axis, the ES_CHIL framework is synchronized through the event axis. Therefore, it can ease the real_time constraint and broaden the upper bound on the system size and switching frequency. Besides, models and algorithms with higher accuracy, such as the diode model with natural commutation processes, can be used in the ES-CHIL framework. The proposed framework is validated for a 350 kW wireless power transformer system containing 24 fully controlled devices and 36 diodes by comparing it with Simulink and physical experiments. This research improves the fidelity and application range of the power converters CHIL simulation. Thus, it helps to accelerate the prototype design and performance evaluation process for electrified railways and other applications with such complex converters.