Test bench Linux-based platform for power quality experiments

In this paper we describe the design of a platform for experiments in the power quality area. The platform is intended for laboratory experiments as well as education on power quality methodologies and equipment. Nowadays, the power quality requires sophisticated approaches to get an efficient utilization of both: the electrical energy and the electrical installations and equipment. However, the real scenarios with high voltages and currents are difficult to replicate in the laboratory in order to prove compensation strategies. The platform proposed is based on an embedded system implemented on a Cyclone FPGA. The FPGA implements a NIOS processor interfaced through custom instructions to the testbenching hardware architecture. The NIOS processor runs a uCLinux operating system that implements communication protocols and high level software routines.