Improving the control-design process in naval applications using CHIL

Different steps are necessary to develop power-electronic systems (PES): After the concept is chosen, the controller is designed using software simulations. The control is implemented and tested on the dedicated PES. However, a successful final test requires that the controller hardware is interacting with the PES properly. For this, a real-time simulator suits best which allows to verify the function of the controller hard- and software in real-time. This is realized by simulating the entire controlled system - including the power electronics - by means of state-space equations. Furthermore, it is possible to verify the generation of the switching-signals independent of the simulation. The proposed real-time simulator offers the possibility to test the full control hardware. On the one hand side, the control algorithms can be assessed regarding quality and time expense. On the other hand, the proper operation of the switching-signal generation can be tested without endangering the costly PES.