The goal of this work was to design and evaluate a hydraulic Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation system based around electric and hydraulic motors. The idea behind HIL simulation is to install real hardware within a physically emulated environment, so that genuine performance can be assessed without the expense of final assembly testing. In this case, coupled electric and hydraulic motors were used to create the physical environment emulation by imparting flows and pressures on test hardware. Typically, servo-valves are used for this type of hydraulic emulation, and one of the main purposes of this work was to compare the effectiveness of using motors instead of the somewhat standard servo-valve. Towards this end, a case study involving a Sauer Danfoss proportional valve and emulation of a John Deere backhoe cylinder was undertaken. The design of speed and pressure controllers used in this emulation is presented, and results are compared to data from a real John Deere backhoe and proportional valve. While motors have a substantially lower bandwidth than servo-valves due to their inertia, they have the ability to control pressure at zero and near-zero flows, which is fundamentally impossible for valves. The limitations and unique capabilities of motors are discussed with respect to characteristics of real hydraulic systems.

The protection system plays an important role in the power system to detect the fault, isolate the faulted zone from the unaulted zone and restore the power supply to the healthy part. In order to validate the developed protection system, hardware in the loop (HIL) tests have been performed on several power system test cases using commercial overcurrent and distance relays from two vendors and a Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). Two-bus and eight-bus terrestrial power systems (TPS) as well as a 4-bus shipboard power system (SPS) are developed in RSCAD and used as power system test cases. The simulation results of the HIL tests provides the background to design the software overcurrent relay model, which should have the same functionality as that of the hardware commercial overcurrent relay. The test case power system with the developed software overcurrent relay model is simulated on RTDS for the same fault conditions in the software in the loop (SIL) test. The comparison of the HIL and SIL simulation results was used to validate the software overcurrent relay model. This research work is further extended to implement more complex operations like multiple relay operation and relay coordination using the developed overcurrent relay model. The first step is to conduct the multiple relay operation and relay coordination tests on the SPS and TPS using multiple commercial hardware overcurrent relays. The second step is to modify the RSCAD software overcurrent relay model by adding more functionality to produce the matching results as obtained in the first step for the same test cases under similar fault scenarios. In addition to modeling overcurrent relay, a differential relay was also modeled using LabVIEW. The relay model was tested for different types of fault conditions.

In a near future, it is imminent that passenger vehicles will soon be introduced with a new revolutionary brake by wire system which replaces all the mechanical linkages and the conventional hydraulic brake systems with complete 'dry' electrical components. One of the many potential benefits of a brake by wire system is the increased brake dynamic performances due to a more accurate and continuous operation of the EMB actuators which leads to the increased amount of possibilities for control in antilock brake system. The main focus of this thesis is on the application of a model predictive control (MPC) method to devise an antilock brake control system for a brake by wire vehicle. Unlike the traditional ABS control algorithms which are based on a trial and error method, the MPC based ABS algorithm aims to utilizes the behaviour of the model to optimize the wheel slip dynamics subject to system constraints. The final implementation of the wheel slip controller emb races decentralized control architecture to independently control the brake torque at each four wheel. Performance of the wheel slip controller is validated through Software-in-the-Loop and Hardware-in-the-Loop simulation. In order to support the high demands of the computational power and the real time constraints of the Hardware-in-the-Loop simulation, a novel multi processor real-time simulation system is developed using the reflective memory network and the off-the-shelf hardware components.

ITC/USA 2005 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2005 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / In GPS receiver the acquisition process generates two important parameters: the initial carrier frequency and the initial phase of the C/A code. In this paper two different methods for acquisition are mainly discussed: serial search in the time domain and FFT search in the frequency domain. Frequency domain acquisition involves using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to convert the GPS signals into the frequency domain. One fast and easy-to-implement algorithm for averaging correlation is implemented and explained in detail. The FFT search method is both simulated in Matlab and evaluated in Altera Stratix DSP development board.

The function of a turbine governor is to maintain the grid frequency close to the nominal value, which in the Nordic grid is 50 Hz. This thesis uses a standard turbine governor from Vattenfall AB, which is implemented with a PLC. The turbine governor gives a control signal which controls the guide vane opening and thus the water flow through the turbine. A test bench for the turbine governor was created where the software LabView was used together with special hardware. The software simulates a Francis hydro power turbine, which gives a feedback signal to the turbine governor. Data for the hydro power turbine, used in the simulation, has been taken from an actual power plant. The user of the test bench has the possibility to choose between actions and to change parameters. For example to give start or stop order, or change setpoint. In this thesis has, for example, a change of guide vane opening setpoint, a grid disturbance, and stops of the turbine, been tested. Validation shows that the result agrees reasonably well with the reality. The result leads to the conclusion that it is possible to create a test bench for the turbine governor with the aid of LabView.

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a low cost autonomous flight control system for small unmanned aerial vehicles with the aim to support collaborative systems. A low cost hardware solution was achieved by careful selection of sensors, integration of hardware subsystems, and the use of new microcontroller technologies. Flight control algorithms to guide a vehicle though waypoint based flight paths and loiter about a point were implemented using direction fields. A hardware in the loop simulator was developed to ensure proper operation of all hardware and software components prior to flight testing. The resulting flight control system achieved stable and accurate flight while reducing the total system cost to less than $250.

Zugl.: Duisburg, Essen, Universiẗat, Diss.

Power Hardware In Loop (PHIL) simulation is a test method where equipment intended for field application can be debugged and tested in the factory by connecting to a virtual power system model simulated on a real-time simulator. Hence the PHIL simulation may be very effective in developing, debugging and commissioning power equipment. However, due to imperfections (e.g., time delay, noise injection, phase lag, limited bandwidth) in the power interface, simulations in this method show errors or even instable results. This thesis presents means to improve the simulation accuracy of the PHIL simulation. In order to achieve this, a simulation model is constructed for the PHIL simulation process itself. Using simulation, the sensitivity of the simulation to parameters in the interface equipment as well as interface software is thoroughly investigated. One interesting result is that the simulation is significantly affected by phase delay. Based on the analysis, an improved algorithm that uses additional interface filters (implemented in hardware and/or software) is proposed. The thesis shows that more stable and accurate results can be obtained by using the new algorithm. The validity of the proposed methods is verified through a simulation based study and hardware based studies.

Power Hardware In Loop (PHIL) simulation is a test method where equipment intended for field application can be debugged and tested in the factory by connecting to a virtual power system model simulated on a real-time simulator. Hence the PHIL simulation may be very effective in developing, debugging and commissioning power equipment. However, due to imperfections (e.g., time delay, noise injection, phase lag, limited bandwidth) in the power interface, simulations in this method show errors or even instable results. This thesis presents means to improve the simulation accuracy of the PHIL simulation. In order to achieve this, a simulation model is constructed for the PHIL simulation process itself. Using simulation, the sensitivity of the simulation to parameters in the interface equipment as well as interface software is thoroughly investigated. One interesting result is that the simulation is significantly affected by phase delay. Based on the analysis, an improved algorithm that uses additional interface filters (implemented in hardware and/or software) is proposed. The thesis shows that more stable and accurate results can be obtained by using the new algorithm. The validity of the proposed methods is verified through a simulation based study and hardware based studies.

Universiẗat, Diss.--Stuttgart, 2007.