Digital simulation of power systems and power electronics using the MATLAB/Simulink Power System Blockset

The Power System Blockset (PSB) is a graphic tool that allows schematics and simulation of power systems to be built in the Simulink environment. The blockset uses the MATLAB/Simulink environment to represent common components and devices found in electrical power networks. Simulink's variable-step event-sensitive integration algorithms allow increased accuracy in zero-crossing detection of currents as compared with fixed step algorithms. One important feature of the Power System Blockset which has been introduced with version 2.0 is its ability to simulate either with continuous variable time-step integration algorithms or with a discretized system. For small and medium size systems, variable time steps algorithms are usually faster because the number of steps will be less than with a fixed-time step method. However, for large systems which contain many states or many nonlinear blocks such as power electronic switches, it is advantageous to discretize the electrical system. Both the continuous integration and fixed-time step methods are illustrated. The graphic interface of Simulink provides a user-friendly environment where the power circuit and control system are represented in the same diagram. The results are displayed while the simulation is running. The processing power of MATLAB allows the designer to perform complex post-processing on simulation results. This special technical session presents the features of the Power System Blockset and its applications in the simulation of power systems and power electronics systems.