Analog IC design for real-time simulation of power electronic circuits

This paper presents a feasibility study of real-time simulation of power electronic circuits using analog IC technologies. Unlike conventional analog simulation where a mathematical model is developed first and then implemented by using op-amps, the proposed approach simulates a power electronic circuit directly by analog devices and components. Capacitors and switches are shown to be amenable to direct IC implementation after proper scaling; inductors and diodes are emulated by active circuits to facilitate IC implementation. Such analog simulation avoids the limitations of digital simulation in terms of simulation time and convergence problems when applied to power electronic circuits. The overall concept has been tested by numerical simulation. Possible applications of the proposed method include simulation of large power electronic systems, rapid control prototyping and hardware-in-loop simulation, model-referenced adaptive control, and online diagnosis and prognosis.