Realization of High Fidelity Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop Capability Using a MW-Scale Motor-Generator Set

Power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) is a vital technique for realistic testing of prototype systems. While the application of power electronics-based amplifiers to enable PHIL capability has been widely reported, the use of motor-generator (MG) sets as the PHIL interfaces has not been fully investigated. This article presents the realization of the first MW-scale PHIL setup using an MG set as the power amplifier, which offers a promising solution for testing novel systems for the integration of distributed energy resources. Uniquely, this article presents a methodology that introduces augmented frequency and phase control loops that can be integrated to commercially-available MG set's existing frequency controller for precise frequency and phase tracking. Internal model control is used for the controllers design and tuning. The developed control algorithm is tested in a MW-scale MG set that couples a Great Britain (GB) transmission network model simulated in a real time simulator to an 11 kV distribution network. Experimental results are presented, which demonstrate that the proposed control methodology is highly effective in maintaining the synchronization between the simulated and physical systems, thereby capable of enabling the MG set as a PHIL interface.