Applications

Power Hardware in the Loop

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 to be tested (for example, an inverter) is integrated into a test rig with real-time simulation models of other equipment and systems (for example, a power grid or a wind turbine). The whole is then controlled by a real-time simulation environment that coordinates and controls the behavior 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.

Testing of Electric Hydrogen Vehicles

With increasing environmental pressures resulting from the long-term use of traditional fossil fuels, the development and use of clean energy has become a major agenda item worldwide. Hydrogen energy is considered to be the most important energy source in the 21st century. This clean form of energy has the advantages of zero pollution, high efficiency, abundant resources and a wide range of applications. The use of hydrogen produces no CO2 emissions and has clean and pure water as a by-product.

The increasing demand for energy will have to be met, to a large extent, in the form of electrical energy. In addition to the already known sources such as sun and wind, it is therefore to be expected that hydrogen will be used as an energy source for generating electricity.

A fuel cell is used to convert hydrogen into electrical energy. An electrolyser is used to produce hydrogen electrically.

TESTING EV CHARGERS AND FAST CHARGERS

The safe, convenient and efficient charging and discharging of electric vehicles is essential for the breakthrough of electromobility. High demands are placed on the interface between the charging point and the electric vehicle. The charge point must also meet high standards when feeding power back into the grid to guarantee grid quality and stability. For the optimisation and further development of these crucial factors, extensive tests with network emulation and vehicle emulation are indispensable.

These are therefore the two most important elements in testing charging stations. The grid emulation simulates the grid with all possible fluctuations and contaminations. An adjustable load in combination with a vehicle communication simulator simulates the characteristics of the electric vehicle and battery.

An overview of the various test set-ups for the different charging modes can be found in this application note.

How do I choose the right AC power supply for my application?

As a developer, you would also like to test all products with a plug for specifications. Does the product work well in the voltage range from 196V to 256V and higher? Or is your product sold worldwide and do you also come across other voltages and more phase grids? Which frequencies do you need; 50Hz, 60Hz, 400Hz and 800Hz or higher? Does the product meet all local standards? And there are many other specifications that apply to the AC grid that your design must comply with.

There is a wide range of AC power supplies available in the market but, what should you pay attention to when making the right choice? With this white paper we are going to inform you as well as possible about the most important specifications,

Energy management and the challenges of an autonomous Off Grid energy system

At the Energy and Environment department of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) of the University of Luxembourg, they do have different research projects related to green energy contributing to the development of eco-cities.

The challenges of an autonomous Off Grid energy system

On the Engineering side one goal is to be autonomous as far as possible in terms of thermal and electrical power supply. The aim is to achieve a self-sufficient supply in thermal (heating-cooling) and electrical energy produced on site in a regenerative manner. However renewable energy sources offer limited predictability and variability, which is a major challenge in an electricity grid where demand and supply must match at all times. To align electricity consumption and electricity production through variable renewable energy sources, demand response will play an important role in the future energy system. Demand response strategies are implemented with appropriate energy management systems, which enable demand to be shifted or reduced in order to improve the energy consumption and production profile of a building through optimal operational schedules. Model predictions and the fusion of the building energy system with ICT is crucial for assessing overall flexibility.

270Vdc in Avionics

When you look at the aviation industry, you can see that there is also a tendency here to use more and more electrical energy (electricity). Not to mention fully electric flying! For this reason, there is a need for improvements in both new and existing concepts without increasing weight.

A solution for the increasing electrical consumption is to increase the voltage level of the electrical network on the aircraft. In recent years, we have seen the increasing use of a third system based on 270Vdc in addition to the 115V/400Hz AC and 28Vdc electrical board network. This 270Vdc system for aviation was first defined in MIL-STD-704B 17 Nov. Battery systems in this voltage range have been in use in the maritime world for much longer due to their relatively high power density and capacity. The new interest in the use of the 270Vdc grid within avionics is also partly due to the development of new electromechanical equipment that can replace traditional pneumatic and hydraulic systems.

Increased operating voltage provides improved electrical efficiency, contributes to the weight reduction of the aircraft, improves aircraft safety/reliability and provides positive environmental impacts.

Presentation on choosing the right ac power supply for your application

The FHI Power Electronics Event took place from 8 to 10 June 2021. This time it was a digital event due to the restrictions still in place as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

TT&MS consultant André Handgraaf gave a general presentation with the topic: “How to choose the right AC power supply for your application?”. As a developer, you want to test all products with a plug for specifications. Does the product work well in the voltage range of 196V to 256V and higher? Or is your product sold worldwide and do you encounter other voltages and more phase sets? What frequencies do you need; 50Hz, 60Hz, 400Hz and 800Hz or higher? Does the product comply with all local standards? There are many other specifications that apply to the AC grid that your design must meet. There is a wide range of AC power supplies available in the market, but what should you look for when making the right choice?

Click here for the slides of the presentation and watch it again below.

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.

We are happy to show you our range of AC power supplies.

Testing a solar car with the H&H PLI3230 power supply

TTMS and H&H have joined forces in 2016 to sponsor Solar Team Twente (part of TU Twente). An H&H PLI3230 power supply was given on loan to test the Team’s solar car.

The Solar Team Twente designs and builds a solar car every other year to participate in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. In 2017 this team participated in the RED SHIFT, a solar car in which the so-called Solar Balancing technique called “SABINE” has been applied.

SABINE stands for Solar Array Balancing Interface Not Expected. It ensures that losses caused by the differences between the yields of solar cells, also known as grouping loss, are marginalised.

Click on the button below to read more about SABINE and how the H&H PLI3230 power supply was used for testing.

For more information about the H&H PLI series, please refer to the product page.

Battery and capacitor charging

Batteries and capacitors have similar loading requirements, which fit well with the standard functionality of Magna-Power power supplies. When a Magna-Power power supply is connected to a battery or capacitor, the power supply can be programmed for the nominal quiescent voltage and the highest desired charging current.

The power supply, in constant current mode, charges the battery or capacitor at the defined charge current, while the voltage increases with the amount of charge. Once the programmed rated voltage is reached, the Magna-Power supply automatically switches to voltage mode and the charging current drops to zero when charging is complete.
With such loads, we usually work with a protection diode and sense lines to protect the power supply while maintaining an accurate charging voltage.

Would you like to know more? Click on view application note.