Development and implementation of a 25 kW virtual induction machine test bed utilizing the power-hardware-in-the-loop concept

Experimental validation of motor drives to ensure appropriate efficiency and performance is essential to such sectors as: industrial; aerospace, naval and land propulsion devices, and utilities. For low power machines, this is typically a non-issue since test beds are relatively inexpensive and accessible. However, as power levels increase into the upper kilowatt and megawatt range, validation of prototype machines and drives becomes costly. These costs are primarily: materials, transportation, and test site development and operation. The virtual machine (VM) concept provides a solution for de-risking these costs by utilizing the power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) concept in conjunction with high-fidelity machine models and detailed load dynamics. The VM and load dynamics are simulated with a real-time digital simulator which generates appropriate control commands to a power electronics based voltage amplifier that interfaces via a cascaded LC-LC type filter to a variable speed drive (VSD). The controlled voltage amplifier, in conjunction with the LC-LC type filter, acts as a current sink to the VSD. Provided the voltage amplifier has sufficient bandwidth, the VM will closely represent the terminal characteristics of a real machine and load, with respect to the VSD. This paper addresses the establishment of a 25 kW virtual machine test bed and associated issues.