Real-time simulation of synchronous generator and its controllers on RTAI-Linux platform

This paper presents a real-time simulation of a synchronous generator using real-time application interface (RTAI) on Linux. Different generator controllers such as exciter and power system stabilizer are also included in the real-time simulation. The Forward Euler method with a suitable step-size has been employed for obtaining the solution of differential equations after justifying its applicability through illustrative examples. Various disturbance conditions are demonstrated to bring out most of the rotor-angle stability issues in a SMIB system. Using a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) card, the real-time simulation results are captured on an oscilloscope and are validated using off-line MATLAB simulations. Such a setup offers a very useful laboratory tool for carrying out the hardware-in-the-loop tests.