Variable Speed Drive Connected Motor Load Emulator for a Multi-Converter-Based Hardware Testbed System

A variable speed drive (VSD) based induction motor power emulator is presented in this paper, which is intended to be used in a real-time multi-converter-based hardware testbed (HTB) system. The presented HTB load emulator can accurately reflect the dynamic performance of a VSD-based load with multiple control algorithms without requiring significant computational resources and simulation time. Therefore, the developed VSD load emulator can not only mimic VSD-driven motor load performance, but also can be flexibly integrated into electric power grid emulators or simulators, which enable more detailed power grid analyses by providing a more accurate model for this particular type of load. This paper discusses the specification of the developed VSD-based load emulator, including multiple control schemes, and the physical realization in a power grid emulator. Finally, the accuracy of the VSD load emulator is demonstrated with experimental results.