Opal-RT Technologies Inc. (www.Opal-RT.com), the leading developer of open, PC-based Real-Time Simulators for electrical, mechanical and power electronic systems this week will demonstrate a breakthrough in the Real-Time Simulation of very large power grids using eMEGAsim, the company’s PC-based cost-competitive power grid simulation platform.July 27, 2009 - Calgary, Alberta, CANADAOpal-RT Technologies Inc. (www.Opal-RT.com), the leading developer of open, PC-based Real-Time Simulators for electrical, mechanical and power electronic systems this week will demonstrate a breakthrough in the Real-Time Simulation of very large power grids using eMEGAsim, the company’s PC-based cost-competitive power grid simulation platform.
The company is a sponsor of this week’s 2009 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, taking place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where they will unveil Real-Time Simulation of a very large power system model comprised of 330 3-phase buses, 517 distributed parameter lines, 42 generation plants, and 90 loads with a minimum simulation time-step of 51 microseconds distributed across twenty 2.33 GHz Intel processor cores. The real-time simulation of complex high-voltage direct current twelve-pulse converters (HVDC) with a time step of 10 microseconds will also be demonstrated. The simulation is performed on Opal-RT’s eMEGAsim Real-Time Simulator. eMEGAsim, specifically designed for Real-Time Simulation of very large power grids and associated fast-switching power electronic devices. eMEGAsim leverages commercially available Intel multi-core processor technology and Xilinx FPGA co-processors to conduct analysis and study of power systems that was previously only possible using large, expensive, custom hardware and software. In addition, eMEGAsim supports INTEL’s new i7 Intel processor architecture running at 3.2 GHz, decreasing by approximately 20% for the simulation of such large networks.
“Opal-RT’s breakthrough in the simulation of very large power grids means that simulation technology that was once only affordable for large national utilities and manufacturers is now within reach of smaller organizations that have a need to conduct high-fidelity electromagnetic transient simulation of power systems, power electronics, electric drives and Distributed Generation devices, like wind farms” said Jean Bélanger, CEO and co-founder of Opal-RT Technolgies.
“Such performance, that was only available from expensive supercomputer or custom computer system, confirms OPAL-RT’s decision, made 12 years ago, to use of off-the-shelf computer technologies for high-end Real-Time Simulators.” added Mr. Belanger.
Power system simulation technology has evolved dramatically over the last 50 years. From Transient Network Analyzers (TNAs) to hybrid simulators, to digital simulators that incorporated proprietary hardware or every expensive supercomputer technology, each evolutionary leap in technology has made it possible for electrical engineers to design, study and test increasingly large and complex power systems.
With this breakthrough, Opal-RT further evolves the state-of-the-art in simulation technology, thereby enabling electrical engineers to obtain and upgrade simulators that provide the highest level of performance for the study of electrical and fast-switching power electronic systems, but without the traditional restrictions of high cost and closed simulator architecture.
Benchmark Model
The benchmark simulation is conducted on three eMEGAsim simulator target equipped with dual Intel® CoreTM 2 Quad Processors, operating at 2.33GHz, for a total of 8 processor cores per target (24 cores in total). eMEGAsim targets are interconnected using fast ultra-low latency 20-Gbits/s Dolphin communications links. The Windows-based PC host used for the test is equipped with an Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo CPU, 2GHz, 2 GB RAM. Preliminary benchmark with the new i7 Intel 3.2 GHz indicate a performance gain of at least 30%
The simulation is made with SIMULINK and ARTEMiS, a Simulink blockset developed byOpal-RT, that enables the simulation of SimPowerSystems models in Real-Time.
The entire system is decoupled into 18 zones and each zone is simulated on one subsystem. All generator controllers are simulated in a separate control subsystem. In real time, the 19 subsystems are simulated on 19 processor cores across the 3 eMEGAsim targets. Signals are communicated between the targets through the use of a High-speed Dolphin PCIexpress communication link with an ultra-low latency of 3 microseconds.
The remaining 5 processors are available for managing simulator overhead including communications, acquisition, and control.
A second benchmark was conducted on a bipolar 12-pulse HVDC transmission system with a 2.33 GHz has demonstratde the capability to reach a time step as low as 10 microseconds. Such performance increases the accuracy of the simulation to enable the test of HVDC control and protection systems in a more realistic environment.
Complete details of this benchmark are available at http://www.opal-rt.com/video/330-bus-large-scale-real-time-power-systems-simulation-0.
About eMEGAsim Power Grid Real-Time Simulator
eMEGAsim is a fully digital Real-Time Simulator for the study, test, and simulation of large in-land power grids, industrial power systems, commercial and military ships, and electrical train traction systems and feeding networks. eMEGAsim is used to test the functionality and performance of protection system and power electronic control systems prior to their installation in the field or to explain and find solutions to problems detected during system commissioning or after major system collapses.
Larger power grids can be simulated in Real-Time by connecting multiple eight-core eMEGAsim Simulators together with very fast 20-Gbits/s DOLPHIN communication links. eMEGAsim Simulators with 24 and 32 INTEL processor cores and XILINX FPGA chips have already been delivered for the simulation of large distributed power systems embarked on electrical ships. Over one hundred eDRIVEsim and eMEGAsim electrical system simulators equipped with 2 to 4 processor cores have already been delivered to large organizations including General Electric, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Toyota, General Motors, as well as to universities and research centres around the world, illustrating the scalability and affordability of Opal-RT simulators.
About Opal-RT Technologies Inc.
Founded in 1997, Opal-RT is the leading developer of open Real-Time Digital Simulators and hardware-in-the-loop testing systems for electrical, power electronic and electro-mechanical systems. Opal-RT's unique approach integrates parallel, distributed computing with commercial-off-the-shelf technologies. Opal-RT's customers perform Rapid Control Prototyping, System Integration, and Hardware-in-the-Loop testing of electric drives, electronic controllers and power distribution networks used in manufacturing, electric train networks, and by electrical utilities. Companies using Opal-RT Simulators include ABB, BHEL, Denso, GE, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, GM and Toyota.
-30- eDRIVEsim and eMEGAsim, ARTEMiS, and RTeDrive are trademarks of Opal-RT Technologies Inc. Intel Core2, i7, SimPowerSystems, Simulink, and MATLAB are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
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Opal-RT Unveils Breakthrough in Real-Time Simulation of Very Large Power Grids And HVDC Systems with eMEGAsim Real-Time Simulator |
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