Rapid Control Prototyping Solutions

Editor's Notes

• #2: Hello, and welcome to this OPAL-RT webinar about Rapid Control Prototyping for Electrical Drive, Power Conversion & Power Systems. My name is Guillaume Boué, in charge of the Rapid Control Prototyping practice at OPAL-RT. I am based in Paris, in the Europe office. I am here today with Darcy Laronde, our panelist. We are very pleased to be with you today, and see so many people attending this event.
• #3: I am here today to give you an overview of OPAL-RT’s Rapid Control Prototyping solutions. We have divided this talk into four parts : 1- First, I am going to briefly introduce OPAL-RT 2- The next section will aim to define rapid control prototyping, and the positive impact it will have on your projects, to cut back on development risks, time and cost. 3 – In the next part, we will show you how the innovative technology developped by OPAL-RT for Rapid Control Prototyping, will efficiently adresses the needs of power electronics, electric drive and power systems control engineering 4- Finally, we will bring into the light several applications in several application domains, and some of them are really Please feel free to
• #4: There’s a lot that we are going to cover in the next hour, so I want to give you a summary of the key points that I would like to make sure you take away from this presentation. Modern systems are becoming increasingly complex and require sophisticated control systems, for better performance, efficiency, and safety. This is why design errors should be discovered and fixed as soon as possible during development. With concrete examples and a live demonstration we will see why RCP has gained such popularity, because of the simplicity it gives to rapidly build control experiments, and efficiently troubleshoot control designs. Power electronics and power systems controls are truly specific. They have stringent requirement regarding execution cycle time, specific sensor or communication protocols needs. OPAL-RT has concentrated his effort to cater the need for dedicated solutions which efficiently address these requirements. We are offering today a set of unique solutions, to address from the most standard needs to the most advanced ones.
• #5: OPAL-RT celebrates this year 15 years in the business. Its origins are from the power system industry. Over the year, the company has developped a strong track record in innovative real-time simulation solutions. We specialize in model-based engineering solutions, mainly Rapid Control Prototyping and HIL, with operations in the Electric Industry, Automotive, Aerospace. That being said, we have a kept strong focus on Power Electronics, Electric Drive and Power Systems applications, with dedicated solutions and extensive know-how in the field.
• #6: Opal-RT has gained the business and trust amongst a large customer base including many Fortune 500 companies, as well as premium research laboratories. One most striking point is how our customer partition represents the diversity of applications covered by our solutions.
• #7: Here is the agenda for today 1- First we are going to introduce OPAL-RT : who we are and what we do 2- The next part will present the reasons to go for rapid control prototyping, and what it will bring to your projects, with live demonstration 3 – We’ll move on to presentation of innovative applications in various fields
• #8: To introduce the topic of RCP, we will use the famous V-Cycle paradigm. With model-based engineering, simulation has shifted from pure simulation and plays a key role for many activities. Model data is passed from one step to another. This way, interpretation errors are avoided; faster iteration is possible ; information flows better between teams ; and time-consuming tasks are automated, like coding. Likewise, testing activities are optimized, allowing larger test coverage and efficiency with HIL testing. The presentation of today deals about the left side of the development process, which goes from desktop simulation, to coding and implementation; and more precisely, what is called rapid control prototyping, or R.C.P. [ANIMATION] The goal of Rapid Control Prototyping is to move beyond of pure simulation and to test the functionnality of an algorithm, or a control design… in a way that closely approximate how it might run in the real-world, but with a great flexilibity to easily tweak and optimize the design. Let’s see how it works…
• #9: With RCP, the control system will be a generic real-time platform, instead of a real Electronic Control Unit. [ANIMATION] The simulation model of the control system developped on a classical workstation… [ANIMATION] … will be executedon this Real-Time Computer, equipped with IO interfaces to hook up to the controlled application through actuators and sensors, as well as communication interfaces to connect with other systems. The idea here, is to test in the lab, before you test in the field. One important aspect is that it is possible to take control over the real-time computer with the workstation. Moreover, it is possible to access and change parameters and setting-points on-the-fly, perform signal display, and perform real-time datalogging. This set of tools allows quick tweaking and tuning. [ANIMATION]
• #10: The main interest of Rapid Control Prototyping is that : it does not require any software coding skills, it enables rapid iteration. [ANIMATION] The process of passing the model to a real-time executable is automated with automatic code generation. All the real-time execution, synchonrization, hardware management is handled automatically by the software of the RCP system.  As we can see, fast iteration is enabled, mainly because C code generation no longer has to be made manually. You can test, tune, datalog and iterate fast on your design.
• #11: We are now at the age of digital control. Therefore, control engineering deals increasingly about software engineering . Several studies about software engineering have shown that : Most of errors are introduced very early in the develpment process, and these mistakes accounts for 70% of software errors. [ANIMATION] b) Furthermore, the cost of fixing design errors early in the process, is 100 times lower than at the end of it. That is why RCP has become so popular in many domains. In fact, in many companies RCP has now acquired the status of a very important milestone in the development process, a mandatory step where specification of controls are verified before any lines of code are written and implementation work has started.
• #12: To illustrate this part of the presentation, we will now perform a 5 minutes demonstration. During this demonstration, we will show you : How to pass your control model from Simulink to real-time execution to build a sound demonstration of control concepts How to run a real-time experiment, with handy software services How to benefit from RCP tools to easily tweak and tune control design
• #13: Here is the setup of the demonstration. We have a typical back to back converter system, connected to a wound rotor induction machine, rated at 2KW, with a connection to a 3 phase network, represented by a power supply. The system is controled with RCP-DRIVE Rapid Control Prototyping solution from OPAL-RT, which fires gate pulses with PWM signals and retrieves sensors signals such as torque, speed, voltages, current, etc. In order to change working conditions, the mechanical torque produced by the effect of wind on blades is represented by a second machine. This machine is also controlled by the RCP system. Setting points, control laws parameters can be ajusted from a convenient software interface. As well, it is possible to monitor and save the important data : current, voltages, torque, power out I will now give the control to Mathieu Hainault, Field Application Engineer, who will run this live demonstration.
• #14: Thank you very much Mathieu for this great demonstration ! As we can see, we have shown the main aspects of RCP and the interests that we have introduced before. One can also easily understand the big difference with custom-made control prototypes, where such levels of flexibility and ease-of-use can not be so easily achieved. Not to forget that the RCP solution can easily be reused for several sorts of applications, just by changing the model, the hardware configuration.
• #15: The elements that we have presented so far are quite generic to all RCP solutions manufacturers. We will enter now in a more specific part, related to the cutting-edge technologies of OPAL-RT RCP solutions and their unique capabilities for electrical drive, power conversion and power systems . OPAL-RT provides a complete range of dedicated RCP solutions : The ability to deal with tight cycle times Address complex topologies with up to thousands of switches Develop smart grids controls, protection and measurement systems Bleeding edge real-time performance with very low cycle times and high computing capabilities Benefit from the speed of FPGA, with a flexible and easy-to-use solution True RT datalogging, which is an important feature to ease the troubleshooting and efficient development of new control algorithms
• #16: And we have integrated these unique technologies and capabilities into two product line for electrical applications. RT-LAB RCP-DRIVE solutions which are geared toward electric drive control engineering, with all sorts of motors and converter topologies. This includes : Electric drives, for low voltage applications, such as PMSM, BLDC High Power industrial drives, found in marine applications, oil & gas systems, trains, and off-track vehicles Teaching and professional training laboratory [ANIMATION] (b) RT-LAB RCP-GRID systems are ideal for the design, prototyping and testing of complex control, protection and measurement used in modern power systems and also grid-connected power electronics systems. Applications include : Renewable energy resources, storage, and smart home automation Smart grids systems such as protection relay, phasor measurement units, Energy Management Systems And finally, high voltage power electronics, used in transport or interconnection applications, in particular recent power electronics systems with modular multi-level controls
• #17: So… In this part, we are going to unveil certain aspects of OPAL-RT RCP solutions, which makes the solution unique of its kind, to reach the maximum levels of performance, flexbility and ease of use.
• #18: First of all, OPAL-RT RCP solution is based on a fast and versatile architecture, which combines high computing power, low cycle time, modularity and versatility. > The real-time computer runs under Linux, and supports multi-core and multi-rate execution. OPAL-RT integrates some of the latest processing units available on the market, to deliver the best computing performance. > The fast Input/Output system is based on FPGA units, allowing versatility and fast computation for high speed algorithms for signal processing, controls or protections. [ANIMATION] > These FPGA will receive a program, so to say, called FPGA firmware, to perform: Management of generic IO Generic RCP-related controls, developped by OPAL-RT Specific or user-made FPGA controls > To deliver the maximum communication performance between the IO system and the computing system, OPAL-RT systems used PCIExpress. This part is usually the bottleneck in most RCP solutions. By using PCIExpress fabric, OPAL-RT can guarantee the lowest cycle times, even with large IO count. > With the combination of fast processor, powerful and flexible FPGA, and high speed backbone, OPAL-RT proposes a bleeding-edge hardware solution, with great performance levels and optimal modularity. [ANIMATION] Finally, the RCP system can be hooked up with other systems, using communication options, such as CAN, RS232, or the protocols used in modern power systems, such as IEC61850, DNP 3.0, etc.
• #19: Let’s have a look on the possible options available as of March 2013. OPAL-RT proposes two formats : A new compact hardware, the OP 45 hundred A more advanced hardware, the OP 56 hundred, Both solutions are based on the same CPU and motherboards, and deliver the same level of performance. The OP 56 hundred, can accodomate whith larger number of IO channels
• #20: It also provides the compatibility with wide variety of sensors needed for Rapid Control Prototyping (RCP) applications. The OPAL-RT RCP FPGA Firmware is generic and can be configured for different type of actuators and sensors signals that are generally met in Rapid Control Prototyping applications. [ANIMATION] The RCP FPGA firmware provides : a) Easy Simulink interface allowing flexible I/O configuration without flashing the firmware. (this slides presents this) b) Possibility to connect a wide choice of protocols used in industries. c) Possibility to execute very fast signal processing or control functions – we will present one for motor control later on in the presentation d) It also includes security features allowing secure tests to be carried out, to put the system in a safe configuration in case of problems during the execution OPAL-RT proposes several reference in its product line : Spartan 3, Virtex 6 and 7.
• #21: One important aspect of the OPAL-RT hardware architecture is the possibility to scale up the number of IO up to a very large figure. This architecture targets applications such as MMC topologies, where several hundreds of IGBTs are controlled simultaneously. Some of these systems have more than 3500 IO channels, all synchronized together, with a total cycle time of 20µs. Several systems of this kind have been delivered to research center, to address the most challenging projects in the domain of power electronics controls.
• #22: Now let’s have a closer llok to some of the features of the RCP FPGA firmware for electric motor drive. OPAL-RT has worked in cooperation with specialists in electric motor drive controls, to propose what may one of the best solution available today. This solution uses a very fast and accurate execution of the PWM modulation on the FPGA. Using a Simulink block, it is possible to configure the parameters of this PWM generation, and the overall IO system overall, with great latitude of choices, regarding sensors settings, carrier wave mode, multi-carrier PWM, and of course, dead-time. One of the most important aspect is that the sampling time of ADC used for sensing current motors, can be very accuratly configured. This sampling can be synchronized with PWM Out. This is particularly useful for certain types of motors or control systems, such as high speed / low inductance drives, brushless DC motoes, or sensorless controls.
• #23: Because all needs might not be covered by the generic firmware, OPAL-RT proposes a solution for the user to design and prototype his own FPGA functions. This can concern special signal conditionning, custom protocol implementation, or fast control functions that need to run on FPGA. To achieve this, the solution proposed by OPAL-RT is to provide direction integration with Xilinx System Generator. Using RT-XSG blockset, it is possible to access IO hardware, and benefit from ready-made function blocks for various signal processing. Also, this FPGA function can be hooked up with the multicore CPU which executes the Simulink model. To ease the development, floating point execution is available with Virtex 6 chip. Finally, one of the great advantage of OPAL-RT solution, is the real-time datalogger which retrieves data from FPGA. With this solution it is possible to capture signals with a resolution as low as 10ns. Such features truly accelerates rapid control prototyping on FPGA, by allowing efficient troubleshooting and tuning of custom FPGA firmware.
• #24: While conducting a control experiment, things usually happens too fast for the eye to catch what happened when something fails. Therefore, it is important to have a mean to store data during the experiment. Such datalogging capability alleviates the need for complex external solutions of data acquisition, which will not have access to intern variables, parameters or signals which are handled in the RT computing system. When dealing with power electronics control, things are happening really fast. In order to analyze, troubleshoot,and tune control functions with cycle time in the range , datalogging plays a critical role and needs to be adapted to the cycle time of the control. It is not possible to rely on the communication link between the workstation and the RT computer, since it is not deterministic, subject to data losses and not capable to deal with high sampling frequencies. To tackle this issue, all OPAL-RT simulators embed a high performance RT datalogger. This datalogger uses a hardrive, which is directly connected to CPU cores via PCIExpress. With this solution, it is possible keep up with the pace of the RT execution, down to 10µs on CPU, and 10ns on FPGA. Furthermore, it saves logs in MATLAB format, which is practical for post experiment analysis. Finally, it is possible to set a trigger to start the acquisition, either manual, or automatic, based on a certain event for instance.
• #25: The real good news is that such high performance technologies are controlled through a set of user-friendly and integrated software suite. Simulink is a perfect environment to prepare control design models. There is no need to be a programmer and to have extensive knowledge about the details of RT systems. User-friendly user interfaces are provided to visualize data in a graphical environment. This solution is customizable and permits to rapidly build interfaces with few clicks. Having such environment is important to manoeuver your lab experiment in a convenient way and showcase your demonstration with an appealing user interface.
• #26: To wrap it up, OPAL-RT proposes unique dedicated technologies which efficiently caters the needs for power electronics, drive and power systems, by providing ; High performance level to take up the most challenging needs RCP FPGA firmware, a fast, flexible and easy to use technology to rapidly set up a control experiment and benefit from very fast execution performance A Real-Time Datalogger, which alleviates the harshness of fast controls troubleshooting
• #27: For the last part, I would like to showcase some selected applications
• #28: The first one deals about a typical motor drive case. Valeo, a tier-1 automotive supplier is developping a new generation of electric vehicle with extended kilometer range. To achieve this, a complete system has to be designed. For the control side, Valeo is using RCP-DRIVE solution to engineer new control systems, study and evaluate innovative control principles for electric alternators, and drive. RCP-DRIVE allows Valeo to save expensive prototype RCU development, and allows rapid control validation.
• #32: Lastly, …
• #33: This concludes my presentation. This presentation will be available for dowload on our website. Please take some of your time to