Real-Time Hardware-in-Loop Testbed for Power System Analysis

Modern power grid require an enhanced level of detail in order to properly represent their behavior due to its complex nature, new operation and management strategies need to be tested to ensure power system reliability and security. EMT-based real-time digital simulation allows to overcome these constraints which allows to obtain high precision results in a timeframe suited for online monitoring. The recent advancements in modeling, computing, and simulation technology has made it possible to shift the system analysis from offline to online with the help of EMT-based real-time platforms such as Opal-RT HYPERSIM. This bridges the gap between the real-time responses and the simulation environment using hardware-in-loop for complex systems. OPAL-RT HYPERSIM is used as a real-time simulation platform, entering into the world of Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation. OPAL-RT enables the real-time connection of actual hardware with virtual models, facilitating the evaluation, improvement, and optimization of complex systems across several fields by engineers and researchers. HIL is an effective methodology for rigorous and dynamic system testing and demonstration that is challenging with other methodologies. This paper proposes the EMT-based RTHIL testbed, which includes all the essential industry hardware for testing and validating different scenarios. The IEEE 39 bus system is utilized as a use case, consisting of a substantial network with 39 nodes and 10 generator models, specifically for disturbance analysis. The HIL setup facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the consequences of various fault scenarios, providing accurate results.