PLC-based hardware-in-the-loop simulator of a centrifugal pump

A hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) model of a centrifugal pump is proposed. The HIL simulator consists of the pump and pipeline imitators built on the basis of the variable speed drives (VSD) connected via the programmable logical controller (PLC, and profibus communication components. The mathematical description of the pressure maintenance represents a core of the simulation methodology. To study the system, a series of tests have been conducted that proved the designed system flexibility and accuracy in pressure imitation at both the static and the dynamic modes.