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HIL Systems for Emulating Small Electric Motors

Testing auxiliary systems at the electric power level

At the electric power level, the real power stages are included in the test and only the motor is emulated by an electronic load. For this reason, the device under test does not need to be modified and only minor safety restrictions apply compared to a mechanical test bench.

Application Areas

  • Emulating electric machines (brushless DC motors, induction motors, permanent magnet synchronous motors) at the electric power level
  • Suited for highly dynamic measurements and high-speed operations in electric steering systems, gearbox actuators, fuel pumps, etc.
  • Integrating electric drives in a virtual vehicle environment

Key Points

  • Full access to the motor model. Motor parameters can easily be modified.
  • High-performance electronic loads that can sink all the power coming from the ECU
  • Up to 60 V and up to 100 A (50 A RMS) per module, supporting parallel operation
  • User-programmable FPGA board for computing dynamic parts of the electric drive system
  • Minimized feed-through time, supporting the simulation of current ripples (PWM effects)
  • High-speed current regulation ideal for loading PWM power stages
  • High accuracy of emulated currents
  • More flexibility than mechanical test benches
  • Support of multiprocessor systems with more than one Processing Unit for higher computing power

Up to 30 V

The DS5380 Electronic Load Module is optimized for high-speed operation as required for emulating electric motors, such as those in electric steering systems. It can work as both a current sink and a current source to provide bidirectional current flow, i.e., it consumes or generates real currents of or for the motor ECU outputs. The DS5380 Electronic Load Module can be combined with the DS5203 FPGA Board for a dSPACE Simulator or the DS2655 FPGA Base Board for SCALEXIO. In combination with the XSG Electric Components Library, the boards provide the fast reaction times required for controlling electric machines. On both boards, the FPGA computes parts of the simulation model for the electric machine, e.g., from the XSG Electric Components Library, and operates the electronic load module.

Up to 60 V

The DS5381 Electronic Load Module emulates motor and generator currents at voltages of up to 60 V. Highly dynamic switching between the current and voltage control modes makes it possible to emulate floating brushless DC (BLDC) motor phases without additional booster components. With a voltage range of up to 60 V, the module is also ideal for use with higher onboard vehicle voltages of 48 V.

The module is perfect for emulating three-phase electric motor units. Energy recuperation is also included to boost the energy efficiency of the overall system. Typical test application areas are electrically supported steering, starter and generator systems, and mild hybrid drives. Multiple loads can be operated in parallel to achieve higher electric currents in the electronic load.

Electronic load emulation covering a voltage range up to 800 V is also possible on request.

To make the automated tests more perceptible for the developers, the simulation systems can be extended with 3-D visualization software, a steering wheel, or a complete cockpit for the developers to sit in and “drive” the system.

Simulation models such as ASM Vehicle Dynamics make the system behave realistically.

SCALEXIO Modular real-time system for RCP and HIL applications XSG Electric Component Library Plant models for FPGA-based simulations. SCALEXIO Processing Unit Product lines for high core performance and high parallel performance DS2655 FPGA Base Board SCALEXIO I/O board with user-programmable FPGA ASM Electric Components Real-time models for automotive electric system and drive simulation ConfigurationDesk Configuration and implementation software for dSPACE real-time hardware