Current controlled voltage source inverter based amplifier for power hardware in loop simulation using miniature full spectrum simulator

Impact of integration of distributed generation (DG) sources on large power networks cannot be studied accurately using computer simulations since building of accurate models of a variety of DG sources and their controls is challenging. Power hardware in the loop (PHIL) simulations help realistic integration studies as they allow interfacing of physical DG systems with well-established power grid models running on real-time digital simulators. Power amplifiers are required for interfacing the real-time simulator and the power hardware in a PHIL simulation. The miniature full spectrum simulator (mini-FSS) is an educational real-time simulator developed under the National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET) Phase II, Government of India. To extend the capabilities of the mini-FSS for PHIL simulation, a 10-kVA current controlled voltage source inverter (VSI) based power amplifier is developed. This paper presents the design aspects of the current controlled VSI amplifier. A synchronous generator with constant excitation voltage and constant frequency is simulated on the mini-FSS, and an actual three-phase resistive load is interfaced to the mini-FSS using the amplifier developed. The effectiveness of the current controlled VSI interface is verified under various loading conditions. The PHIL simulation results obtained using the mini-FSS are found to be satisfactory.