Utilization of FMI standard in AC Drive simulations

Abstract

In large industrial projects, there are many devices and pieces of equipment that need to communicate with each other and function as designed to ensure the safety and optimal performance of a system. Therefore, commissioning the system is always a time-consuming process where the fine-tuning of controllers and parameters plays a big part, along with verifying the alarm and fault diagnostic messages and indicators. The thesis research evaluated the use of the Functional Mock-up Interface standard for creating the digital twins of AC drives. The simulations of AC drives contained power electronics, multi-layer software concepts, and interfaces. The simulation model combined these elements into a single model, which was then exported to the FMU according to the FMI standard. The exported simulation model was then analyzed and evaluated to see if it could speed up the system commissioning phase and provide a better insight into the product behavior beforehand. The research indicated that virtual commissioning could reduce the consumed time and the errors found during the commissioning process. Based on the study it could be seen that many aspects of the commissioning and AC drive features could be pre-tested in a virtual environment.