Modeling and Compensation Design for a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation of an AC Distribution System

Power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) simulation, where actual hardware under test is coupled with a real-time digital model in closed loop, is a powerful tool for analyzing new methods of control for emerging distributed power systems. However, without careful design and compensation of the interface between the simulated and actual systems, PHIL simulations may exhibit instability and modeling inaccuracies. This paper addresses issues that arise in the PHIL simulation of a hardware battery inverter interfaced with a simulated distribution feeder. Both the stability and accuracy issues are modeled and characterized, and a methodology for design of PHIL interface compensation to ensure stability and accuracy is presented. The stability and accuracy of the resulting compensated PHIL simulation is then shown by experiment.