Design of Field Programmable Gate Array Based Emulators for Motor Control Applications

Taha Taha

doi:10.3844/ajassp.2012.1166.1181

Abstract

Problem statement: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuits play a significant role in major recent embedded process control designs. However, exploiting these platforms requires deep hardware conception skills and remains an important time consuming stage in a design flow. High Level Synthesis technique avoids this bottleneck and increases design productivity as witnessed by industry specialists. Approach: This study proposes to apply this technique for the conception and implementation of a Real Time Direct Current Machine (RTDCM) emulator for an embedded control application. Results: Several FPGA-based configuration scenarios are studied. A series of tests including design and timing-precision analysis were conducted to discuss and validate the obtained hardware architectures. Conclusion/Recommendations: The proposed methodology has accelerated the design time besides it has provided an extra time to refine the hardware core of the DCM emulator. The high level synthesis technique can be applied to the control field especially to test with low cost and short delays newest algorithms and motor models.

Highlights

The high integration scale of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and their highspeed processing time with the reconfigurability option make this type of circuits an attractive solution for many types of applications (Rodriguez-Andina et al, 2007)
A recent study in the industrial field demonstrates that HLS technique is necessary to increase productivity and diminish the gap between the increasing integration of chips and the number of designers needed to work on them (Coussy and Morawiec, 2008)
We present experimental results and analysis obtained from the implementation of the RT DCM emulator in the FPGA circuit

Summary

Introduction

The high integration scale of FPGAs and their highspeed processing time with the reconfigurability option make this type of circuits an attractive solution for many types of applications (Rodriguez-Andina et al, 2007). Modern design tools give the possibility to designers to overcome reconfigurable circuit limits and to shorten the product availability in the markets Some of these tools are called high level compilers, frameworks and synthesizers, derived from the word “High Level Synthesis”. The resulting hardware descriptions can be implemented directly into circuits like FPGAs. Hardware engineers may not modify them and so economize in the design process time (Martin and Smith, 2009). The same study shows that hardware engineers who tried the HLS technique wouldn’t leave it because of its performance and practical obtained results By this way, the industry of electrical process control, which is yet beneficiary from FPGAs advanced platforms, is benefiting from advancements of EDA tools and techniques including HLS. The application of such advantages (circuitry and tools) in the process control field is generally concentrated on implementing more efficient

Results

Discussion

Conclusion