FPGA - Based Real-Time Models of IGBT Power Converters

In this paper are presented FPGA-based models of IGBT power converters for hardware in the loop systems. The analytical model of each single power device is straightforwardly obtained from technical specifications. The proposed approach can be considered a viable solution featuring minimal modeling complexity and thus reduced computational efforts, still maintaining high accuracy. The main target is to provide an easy model plant for testing electric drive configurations and control strategies, fault tolerant drives, and so on. The Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA)-based real-time models have been used to simulate a step down dc-dc converter and a 10kW three-phase inverter for automotive applications. The results carried out using the hardware in the loop system are in good agreement with that obtained from off-line numerical simulations and experimental tests.