Project Description

Due to a large number of possible configurations for advanced powertrains involving batteries, fuel cells, hybrid configurations with internal combustion engines, as well as different sizing of all components, powerful and versatile testing solutions are required to support the development process. Therefore, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing environments play a crucial role. Not yet available parts of a system are hereby substituted by a simulation which enables the testing of entire powertrains in early development stages. Especial research attention is given to electrical vehicle components testbeds.

Refrigerator and next to it an energy saving test device
schematic representation of an electric drive in a motor

For accurate results, the units-under-test in such a testbed have to be supplied by a power source that behaves like the vehicle’s onboard battery. As the usage of physical batteries is cumbersome, potentially dangerous, and expensive, a battery emulator in the shape of a controllable DC power supply is deployed instead. There are high dynamic requirements for controlling such a battery emulator as it has to match the nearly instantaneous battery dynamics. Creating a suitable control concept is further complicated by unstable system dynamics in the presence of constant power loads and hardware limitations regarding the control input. Therefore, a flatness-based control concept for battery emulators driving a constant power load was investigated and tested.

In this context, it is increasingly often necessary to combine several battery emulators in parallel for testing power-intensive components. Due to the fast response time, communication between the devices is severely limited. Therefore, the investigation of decentralized control concepts is important for future applications.

Simulation Results

  • comparison to a linear controller without the flatness-based transformation
  • both controllers share the same linearization point 150V / 50kW
  • both controllers are tuned equivalently
  • FBC is able to stabilise the system further away from the linearization point

Video Presentation

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Video Title: Advanced flatness-based control concept for battery emulation

Publications

Zauner, Michael, Christoph Hametner, Oliver König, and Stefan Jakubek. "A Control Concept for Battery Emulators using a Reference Governor with a Variable PT1-element for Constraint Handling, opens an external URL in a new window." IEEE Open Journal of Industry Applications (2022).

Zauner, Michael, Philipp Mandl, Oliver König, Christoph Hametner, and Stefan Jakubek. "Stability analysis of a flatness-based controller driving a battery emulator with constant power load, opens an external URL in a new window." at-Automatisierungstechnik 69, no. 2 (2021): 142-154.

Zauner, Michael, Philipp Mandl, Christoph Hametner, Oliver König, and Stefan Jakubek. "Flatness-Based Discrete-Time Control of a Battery Emulator Driving a Constant Power Load, opens an external URL in a new window." IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics 9, no. 6 (2021): 6864-6874.

Cooperation Partner

Duration

  • February 2017 - January 2024

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Contact

CDL Powertrain

Associate Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Christoph Hametner

Send email to Christoph Hametner