Presentation of our solutions for control prototyping and its experimental validation on downscaled power converters.

1. Products excerpt - 2020
Nicolas Cherix, PhD, chief scientist
Speed up your developments
by going early to the lab and
challenge your control in a
real-world environment

2. Power solutions
Building blocks for power converters

3. Power Electronic Building Blocks
Sub-assemblies for 1-100kW power converters
Imperix power modules offer
a broad range of solutions for
everyone’s need and ambition ! SiC power module
€ 1 210.-
PEB SiC 8024
HALF-BRIDGE 800 V / 24 A
€ 1 140.-
PEN 8018
NPC PHASE-LEG 800 V / 18 A
€ 900.-
PEH 2015
FULL-BRIDGE 200 V / 15 A
€ 980.-
PEB 4046
HALF-BRIDGE 400 V / 46 A

4. PEB SiC 8024 Power Module
1 V/I SENSORS OUTPUTS (ANALOG)
2 GATE DRIVERS INPUTS (OPTICAL)
3 FAULT OUTPUT
4 BOARD-TO-BOARD LINK
5 POWER SUPPLY (5/12 V)
6 COOLING FAN (120 W)
7 DC LINK TERMINALS
8 POWER SWITCHES (2X SIC MOSFETS)
Mezzanine
VDC
IAC
AC
DC+
DC-
V
A
SiC
SiC
N
Logic
+
drivers
+
safety
Gate H
Gate L

5. A broad range of power modules
PEB 4046 PEB SiC 8024 PEH 2015 PEH 4010 PEN 8018
Topology half-bridge half-bridge full-bridge full-bridge NPC phase-leg
DC voltage 400 V 800 V 200 V 400 V 800 V
AC current 46 A 24 A 15 A 10 A 20 A
Sensors V / I V / I v V + I (+protec.) V + I (+protec.)
Device G4 IGBT 600V SiC MOSFETS 1200V G4 IGBT 600V G4 IGBT 600V G3 IGBT 600V
Cooling Air Air Air Air Air
1 V/I Sensors outputs (analog)
2 Gate drivers inputs (optical)
3 Fault output
4 Board-to-board link
5 Power supply (5/12 V)
6 Cooling fan (120 W)
7 DC link terminals
8 Power switches (2x SiC MOSFETs)

6. Accessories
Further experimental equipment
RACKS
FOR POWER MODULES
POWER INTERFACES
FOR POWER MODULES
SIMULATOR INTERFACES
FOR HIL SIMULATORS
3U OPEN RACK VOLTAGE SENSOR
4U CLOSED RACK CURRENT SENSOR
SENSORS

7. Prototyping tools for power electronics
Giving real power to converter control
Sensors
Voltage & current
Optical fibers
Analog signals (RJ45 cables)
Power converter
Real power circuits
B-Box + Software
Real time controller
2
3
1
+
PI
Iq*
SV–PWM
PI
abc
dq
abc
dq
abc
dq
Udc*
OUR
HARDWARE
YOUR
IDEAS
3x
2
3
1
Control HW SW dev. tools Power stage Accessories

8. SELECT THE POWER MODULES
SELECT THE ENCLOSURE
SELECT THE INTEGRATION LEVEL
A. Bare products B. Hardware only C. Turn-key system
Integration options
Highly customizable design approach
1)
2)
3)

9. Example 1
Power test bench, automotive market
3-phase inverter
» High current ratings (300A)
» Module paralleling
» Custom racks & integration
Motivations
» Test new motor designs
» Multi-purpose test-bench:
control dev., aging...
» Get used to control dev.:
DSP- and FPGA-based

10. v
Example 2
Power systems, academic
Motivations
» Implement non-linerar
control strategies
» Work confidently with
hardware protections
+
bus
C
A
L
F
R
F
C
A
A
A
V V V
fb
C
fb
R
V
A
X
R
X
C
Z
L
Y
C
X
C
Y
C
bus
C = 0.66-2mF
A
L = 2mH B
L = 1mH
X
R
X
C Z
L
= 1MΩ
= 0.22μF
Y
C = 68nF
= 4.3mH
F
R
F
C
= 1Ω
= 3.5μF
fb
C
fb
R
= 1μF
= (10-50Ω)
B
L
B
R = 15kΩ
2x Grid-tied Inverters
» 2x 4 phase legs
» 2x custom passive filters

11. Example 3
Uinterrupted power supply, industrial R&D
Buck-boost AC/DC converter
» 32 power switches
» 2x 16 kHz interleaved
» New topology (dangerous !)
Table 6 : Appréciation de la structure AC/AC+AC/DC série
Points forts Points faibles
Pas de pré charge côté AC
Inductances communes aux deux étages
Faible complexité.
Tension découpée par les semi-conducteurs
réduites => fiabilité augmentée.
Réductions des pertes de découpage, grâce à
la saturation de l’un ou l’autre des étages en
fonction du point de fonctionnement.
Pas de condensateurs électrolytiques (Pas de
bus DC)
Contrôle du courant de sortie côté DC
Deux étages de Semi-conducteurs en série
Courant en entrée discontinu =>Filtrage
important en entrée nécessaire
1.4.2.1 Gradateur Onduleur différentiel
TN_1
Ve1 Ve3
Ve2
Vbat
TN_2
T1_1
T1_2
T2_1
T2_2
T3_1
T3_2
T1_3
T1_4
T2_3
T2_4
T3_3
T3_4
TN_3
TN_4
VN
iL1
iL2
iL3
iLN
ir1 ir2 ir3
irN
Figure 18 : Gradateur Onduleur différentiel
Cette topologie est une combinaison d’un étage gradateur ou hacheur triphasé différentiel
[LEF01] et d’un étage onduleur deux niveaux [SAN01]. Elle a pour particularité d’imposer le
potentiel le plus faible du réseau sur le point bas des étages hacheur différentiel et onduleur,
Motivations
» Single RCP for HIL and protoype
» Evaluate controller performance early
» Demonstrate efficiency

12. Motivations
» Avoid issues of dealing with magnetics
» Make sure control really works ! (and publish...)
Quadruple active bridge
» 24 switches, 10kW, SST
» 30 kHz phase-shift control
Example 4
Solid state transformer, isolated microgrid supply, academic
FRONT VIEW REAR VIEW
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Q6
Q7
Q8
La
Q9
Q10
Q11
Q12
Q13
Q14
Q15
Q16
Q21
Q22
Q23
Q24
Q29
Q30
Q31
Q32
Q17
Q18
Q19
Q20
Q25
Q26
Q27
Q28
Q33
Q34
Q35
Q36
V+
V-
Ca
Lb
L
L
c
n
Cb Cc
LN
15:1 Lr
Ls
Lt
Cr
Cs
Ct
Ouput
relay
PWM[0...3] PWM[0...7] PWM[0...5]

13. GENERAL SETUP
ELECTRICAL GRID EMULATOR
Example 5
Test platform for DG control, academic
Microgrid converters
» 6 units / total 300 kW
» Real power sources (PV,
battery, fuel cell, supercaps)
» Distributed control
Motivations
» Showcase the feasibility
» Face communication
issues (e.g. delays)
» Face the unexpected
issues (real components)

14. Example 6
Fast car charger, academic
Motivations
» Car-centric development
platfrom
» Development of upper-
level strategy
» Repurposability for
teachingW
Multi-source converter
» SST topology (TAB)
» Stationary battery interface
» G2V-V2G modes
» Centralized control
AC
AC
AC
DC
AC
DC

15. Example 7
MMC development platform, academic
MMC bundle
» 24 200V submocules
» 3 B-Box RCP, contralized control
» Customer-assembled
Motivations
» Investigate on MMC/DC
control strategies
» Flexible tolpology
» Validation of simulation work

16. HIL solutions
Real-time simulation for power electronics

17. Control-HIL
Controller Hardwarde In-the-Loop
Controller
DSP+FPGA
HIL simulator
FPGA
Ipv
Upv
2x
Ig,a
Ug,a
N
Lpv
Lg
Cdc

18. PLEXIM (RT BOX) TYPHOON HIL
OPAL-RT
SPEEDGOAT
Control-HIL
Compatible simulators
Analog x16
OPAL-RT hardware
Analog x1
Digital x1
Digital x16
interface
BoomBox

19. Product development cycle
Trends and challenges
Reducing time to market / publication
Simulation HIL Prototyping Product
Barrier 1 Barrier 2 Barrier 3

20. Product development cycle
Trends and challenges
Reducing time to market / publication
Simulation HIL Prototyping Product
Same (high-level) software
Same (real) hardware
AVAILABILITY ?
PERFORMANCE
PLATFORM
CHANGE
CURRENT
TREND
Barrier 1 Barrier 2 Barrier 3

21. Product development cycle
Trends and challenges
Reducing time to market / publication
Simulation HIL Prototyping Product
Same (high-level) software
Fully-compatible hardware
Barrier 1 Barrier 2 Barrier 3
SEAMLESS
TRANSITION
B-Box RCP B-Board PRO

22. Solutions for early development stages
Support of computer-to-HIL transition
Challenges
» Simulation must be
accurate (sampling
instants, delays, etc.)
» Iterating between
simulation and HIL
must be very easy
Controller
DSP+FPGA
HIL simulator
FPGA
Ipv
Upv
2x
Ig,a
Ug,a
N
Lpv
Lg
Cdc
Simulation HIL
PLEXIM (RT BOX) TYPHOON HIL OPAL-RT
SPEEDGOAT
COMPATIBLE PRODUCTS

23. Solutions for later development stages
Support of prototype-to-product transition
Challenges
» Hardware must have
exact same performance
» Software environment
must be transparent
DEVELOPMENT PHASE
» Flexible hardware
» Rapid control validation
PRODUCTION PHASE
» Cost-optimised hardware
» Product integration
B-Box
Prototyping controller
Full bitfile compatibility
B-Board
Embeddable controller
Prototyping Product

24. Imperix control solutions
From simulation to real power
CONCEPT COMPUTER
SIMULATION
PROTOTYPE
IMPLEMENTATION
PRODUCT
INDUSTRIALIZATION
TECHNOLOGICAL
STABILITY
CONTINUOUS SOFTWARE SUPPORT
B-Box RCP
B-Board PRO
Research Production
Development
1 2

25. Learn more about our products
Visit our website
Visit our website
www.imperix.com