Control Design Workflow | Design and Test a Grid-Tied Solar Inverter Controller, Part 2

We'll be using the Model-Based Design Workflow. Let's quickly go through the different steps. First, we start with the requirements of the Grid-Tied Solar Inverter. Then we go to Desktop Simulation, where we have an electrical model of our Grid-Tied Inverter, our solar panels, and the grid. We'll be designing a controller within this environment.

Our ultimate goal will be to design-- to connect our controller to the hardware prototype. So as a first step, we can generate code from the controller to a Speedgoat target machine for rapid controller prototyping. A Speedgoat target machines are expressly designed for tuning, testing, and deploying controllers directly from Simulink.

We can easily adjust parameters to automatic PID tuning and data logging. Afterwards, we can generate optimized code to a microcontroller. And before connecting to the actual hardware, we can use hardware in the loop testing with Speedgoat target machine to thoroughly test the firmware and the interfaces of this controller.

Once all tests pass, we can connect to our actual hardware prototype. The steps we'll be carrying out today consists of plant modeling of the grid, inverter, and solar panel. Then the control design, including grid synchronization, MPPT, current controller, and fold right through, then we'll be generating code to the Texas Instruments C2000 microcontroller.

And from the plant to a performance real-time target machine from Speedgoat. And then we'll do hardware in the loop testing. We start by creating a model of the electrical circuit. We'll be using a solar array with over 600 panels connected via DC link to a grid-tied inverter with a harmonic filter. And this inverter will be connected to the grid via relay.

And the grid will include a transmission line. So if we go to the desktop simulation, we're using a component from Simscape where we can choose from commercial solar panels or introduce the characteristics ourselves. Then on the inverter, it has a harmonic filter, and within the two levels, three-phase inverter will be using both average and switch function.

The switch function we'll be using it for halving the loop testing in order to include the PWM effects. That's the way we'll have the switching dynamics. Currently, we have not designed a controller, so we have disabled it, and we'll be running the simulation. In the simulation, we'll just be measuring the voltage from the grid that is at 60 Hertz.