Online Parametric Identification of Power Impedances to Improve Stability and Accuracy of Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations

This paper presents the wideband system identification (WSI) technique, i.e., an online method to identify power impedances over a wide frequency range from which the corresponding parametric impedance can be calculated online as well. The WSI technique exploits an existing custom 25-kW power electronic converter on the top of its power conversion function, which serves as power amplifier of an existing power hardware-in-the-loop (PHiL) simulation setup. The PHiL simulation technique allows connecting a real device under test (DUT) with the real-time simulated rest of system (ROS) at power level. An interface algorithm (IA) on simulation side and a power amplifier (the 25-kW power electronic converter) connect ROS and DUT. This paper shows the impact of the uncertainties in the WSI chain on the accuracy of the impedance identification and highlights how the WSI technique can be combined with the damping impedance method IA to improve both accuracy and stability of the PHiL test bench. The application of the method is illustrated for the scenario of a PHiL test of a dc microgrid with a passive load.