Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of a High-Speed Generator Excitation Controller

Abstract : Electrodynamics Associates (EA) is developing a MW-class high-speed generator and requires testing of the corresponding excitation controller at Florida State University's (FSU) Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) in a controller hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL) environment. The goal of these tests is to verify the functionality of the generator excitation controller prior to a full scale power hardware-in- the-loop (PHIL) test of the entire generator. Such tests will become feasible at FSU-CAPS in spring of 2010 as the center is currently procuring a gear system that will extend the shaft speed range of the existing 5 MW PHIL facility for rotating machinery from 450 rpm up to 24,000 rpm. This paper focuses on the CHIL testing of the primary excitation system controller, in which the secondary excitation power supply, the main generator, the prime mover, and the load were simulated on a real time computer simulator and interfaced to the controller. Simulating the high-speed generator in real-time is especially challenging since non real-time simulation models of such rotating machines typically contain relatively small time constants which pose challenges to real-time simulation algorithms. The paper discusses approaches to overcome these challenges. In addition, the plans and considerations for PHIL testing of the generator are addressed. This setup will enable, for the first time in a laboratory setup, PHIL testing of a MW scale high-speed generator with a realistic representation of its surrounding dynamic environment.