Test of PWM power electronics devices for electricity network using digital real-time simulator

Abstract

The tests of power system equipments are required either in the design phase, during the qualification and the validation, or in case of malfunctions. These tests are needed to check equipment’s behavior itself as well as its interactions with the power system. An effective and flexible solution to realize these tests avoiding device destruction and voltage risks for people is to use digital real-time simulation. Power electronics devices are in sustained development in power systems for power quality (D-FACTS) or power producers interfacing. Generally, control systems of power electronics devices use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). The main advantages of PWM compared to full wave control are the improvement of controllability, performances and mitigation of harmonic generation. Real-time simulation of these PWM devices is difficult due to the large needed simulation time-step compared to the high PWM switching frequencies (more than 1kHz). This paper presents a new solution to obtain real-time simulation of PWM power electronic devices. As a validation, a benchmark was realized for testing a Static Var Generator (SVG, also called D-STATCOM or SVC light) control device for distribution power systems.