Low-cost, high-speed, real-time simulation for electric ship power systems

Real-time simulation of power electronic systems for electric ships is an essential technique for testing hardware and software in the loop. An important parameter of these simulations is the frame-time necessary to capture the dynamics of the system being simulated. Modern power electronic systems, using higher frequency pulse-width modulation (PWM) converter control, demand frame times that are significantly shorter than those found in most real-time simulators. Simulations have been developed for 6-pulse and 12-pulse, 3-phase voltage-sourced converters connected back to back and to ac systems at either end. The hardware-in-the-loop capabilities of the simulator have been tested by interfacing the simulation platform, installed on one computer, to simulated hardware on separate computers.