Power Systems Control Implementation Based on Two Dedicated FPGA Development Boards Using a Hard/soft Communication Interface

Abstract

This paper presents an unusual Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) development platform for power systems control. This platform is made up of two FPGA boards with a hardware and software communication interface. The one initially realized for direct torque Motor control is now dedicated for analog and digital signals input/output and the other card of much important density is specialized in data processing. A fully digital modules have been developed inside FPGAs from synthesis tools Quartus 2 and Maxplus 2, and a physical link have been realized to manage the communication between the cards. The control strategy takes advantage of the parallelism of the FPGA technology to share in real-time the controller’s information with its environment. Simulations and experimental results validate the feasibility of a simple handshaking communication protocol between both cards. On the other hand, with the proposed implementation solution it was shown a safe operation in a power grid switching station, a successful instantaneous frequency measurements used for grid synchronization and Active Power Filter control, followed by a production of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) gating signals used for inverter in motor control and power quality applications.