Hardware in the loop based synchronous generator emulation test rig for more electric aircraft power systems

As more electric aircraft power systems grow in complexity and power rating, testing a piece of equipment under realistic operating conditions requires a significant effort in terms of costs and complexity of the experimental test rig. The Power Hardware in-the-Loop (HIL) concept can provide significant advantages in terms of decreased costs and complexity for testing as the performances of a device under test are evaluated in an environment that emulates in real time the behaviour of the remaining components of a complete system. This paper describes the application of the Power HIL concept to the emulation of a wound field synchronous generator of the type used in aircraft power systems. An FPGA based solution is used for real time emulation of the dynamics of the synchronous generator, whereas a bespoke three phase MOSFET based inverter with appropriate output filters, is used as a variable voltage source.