Scalable High-Power Battery Emulator for Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Applications

This paper introduces a scalable power hardware-in-the-loop (PHiL) battery emulation system. The battery emulator enables the simulation of real battery voltage profiles with full power rating sink and sourcing capabilities using off-the-shelf components. The battery emulator tracks battery voltage, temperature, and current to provide real-time monitoring of the emulated battery’s state of charge (SOC) and remaining useful life (RUL). The emulator operates in a continuous battery emulation mode or a cyclic mode for repetitive battery testing. The new battery emulator can replace end-product batteries during system development and is realized in two parts, PC Graphical User Interface (GUI) and battery emulator (Hardware). A battery profile-generating algorithm is introduced to accurately reflect the behavior of an actual battery during emulation. All measured data and battery voltage profiles are transferred via Wi-Fi to enable maximal freedom in system deployment. An experimental prototype has been built and tested to verify the battery emulation operation. The prototype handles a maximum input voltage of 150V and an input current of 60A.