Converter-based reconfigurable real-time electrical system emulation platform

A Hardware Testbed(HTB) is developed for accurate and flexible emulation and testing of electrical power system and their control, measurement, and protection systems. In the HTB, modular and programmable power electronics converters are used to mimic the static and dynamic characteristics of electrical power components. This paper overviews the development, integration, and application of the HTB, covering emulation principle, hardware and software configuration, and example results of power system research using the HTB. The advantages of the HTB, compared with real-time digital simulation and downscaled hardware-based testing platform are discussed.