Typhoon HIL Blog

 
Communication is often an afterthought when designing or deploying new distributed energy resource (DER) projects. In practice, though, these communication issues can make or break integration projects when deployed to the energy grid. See how HIL Compatible devices together with model-based system engineering (MBSE) can be used to safely validate communication and control issues prior to system deployment with real hardware, and drastically simplify the integration and commissioning process of new renewables, microgrids, and virtual power plants (VPPs).

Modern grids, including emerging microgrids and advanced shipboard power systems, are increasingly about communication and control networks. Through these networks, countless smart power electronics devices and systems – such as solar inverters, wind turbine inverters, battery storage systems, microgrid control systems, etc. – communicate among themselves.

To make things interesting, all these smart devices also speak many different languages, i.e. communication protocols, such as Modbus, IEC 61850 and DNP3, to name just a few. Therefore, a well-integrated communication toolbox is a must have for a thorough Controller Hardware in the Loop (HIL) testing of modern intelligent electron devices (IEDs).

Read on for 3 key reasons why full support for communication protocols is becoming a must in state-of-the-art HIL testing.

A modern shipboard power system (SPS) is jam-packed with digital control, protection and communication hardware and software. Moreover, in the future, the complexity of control, protection and communication systems is only going to increase as the ships are becoming smarter and more electric.

With all the undisputed benefits of more electric SPS, we are witnessing costly commissioning delays of the most sophisticated vessels due to issues with SPS software. Such problems are to be expected, since the increased complexity of SPS requires the latest generation of testing tools such as Marine Microgrid Testbed (MMT), which is based on the controller hardware in the loop (C-HIL) testing methodology.