Average Models for Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation of Power Electronic Circuits

Power electronic devices are growing in importance in automotive applications. Power converters are used in hybrid electric vehicles, but also in other vehicle applications like electric steering systems for example. For testing electronic equipment, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation is a today’s standard method in the automotive industry and other fields, as well. This contribution provides an overview of different average modeling methods for the real-time simulation of power electronics, which are necessary for hardware-in-the-loop simulation. The average models are described and evaluated by the criteria computation effort, algorithmizability, generalizability and platform usability. The results are summarized to give hints to development engineers for choosing a suitable modeling approach for hardware-in-the-loop simulation of their specific applications.