Development of a simulator-to-simulator interface for geographically distributed simulation of power systems in real time

The geographically distributed simulation concept enables connecting laboratories over long distances with the goal of sharing simulation resources and integrating multiple (Power) Hardware-in-the-Loop setups. The main obstacle in applying this concept is the impact of the communication medium on fidelity and stability of the simulation. This paper presents advantages and challenges of developing a simulator-to-simulator interface based on the time-frequency representation of interface quantities. The proposed approach is first analyzed using a simple electrical circuit as case study, and then conclusions are verified on a larger system including voltage-source converters that realize a high-voltage dc point-to-point link which connects two ac systems. To assess the approach in a realistic framework, an Internet-distributed simulation platform that integrates two remote real-time digital simulators, OPAL-RT (located at University of South Carolina, USA) and OPAL-RT (located at RWTH Aachen University, Germany) is developed and both linear and nonlinear system models are simulated.