FPGA-based real-time Hardware-In-the-Loop simulator of a mini solar power station

Nowadays as the technology is developing, the more complex the power electronics and its controls become, the more proper hardware tool is required for HIL (Hardware-In-the-Loop) simulation. The general aim of the presented work is developing a fast, reliable and scalable HIL simulation framework for the rapid prototyping of complex power electronic systems. There are at least three strong reasons for using HIL simulation during the development: i) reduction of development time, ii) safety and quality requirements, and iii) prevent costly and dangerous failures [1]. The subject of the paper is the development of such a real-time HIL simulator using an FPGA. The system to be modeled is a mini solar power station with energy storage, which means that it is a solar panels-fed battery charger power stage with the battery itself.