Software-based Time Synchronization for Integrating Power Hardware in the Loop Emulation in IEEE1588 Power Profile Testbed

Modern power systems are becoming more and more complex, in order to handle the growing spread of Renewables and of Electric Vehicle charging stations. The control capability relies on the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), including accurate time distribution mechanisms, such as the IEEE 1588 protocol, to the existing distribution grid infrastructure. The validation of such complex systems can hardly be performed in real environments, for both technical and economic reasons. Power Hardware in the Loop (PHIL) emulation systems have already been demonstrated to be effective for this scope. The design of a testbed for the validation of IEEE 1588 power profile based on PHIL solutions requires the capability to synchronize the time bases of the elements forming the testbed. Commercial PHIL systems often offer proprietary synchronization solutions, but these approaches cannot be applied in the general case. In this paper, a software-based solution, able to time synchronize PHIL with IEEE 1588 devices, has been investigated. Such a solution has the advantage that it does not require dedicated hardware, thus it can be applied to different PHIL systems. The experimental characterization highlights that, using such approach, it is possible to reach a time synchronization with an expanded uncertainty (k=3) of 0.75 μs, more than enough to correctly emulate events on the power grid.