Power Hardware in the Loop (PHIL)

Power hardware in the loop (PHiL) is a variant of the original HiL concept. The concept of HIL is retained and supplemented by additional power -read amplifier- in the loop. In this way, the HIL concept is made suitable for controlling physical components or subsystems that require more power. Think of testing or designing electric motors, transformers or inverters.

In a PHIL system, the equipment under test (e.g. an inverter) is integrated into a test rig with real-time simulation models of other equipment and systems (e.g. a power grid or a wind turbine). The whole setup is then controlled by a real-time simulation environment that coordinates and controls the behaviour of the entire setup. PHIL offers several advantages over conventional test systems, including a higher degree of safety, accuracy, reproducibility and flexibility. It also makes it possible to perform the most sophisticated and complex test scenarios that are difficult to achieve with traditional testing methods.

PHIL is often used in the development and validation of power inverters, wind turbines, solar power systems and other power systems, where system reliability and performance are critical to system safety and efficiency.

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