This research introduces a real-time distributed co-simulation architecture designed for modern electrical systems. The framework seamlessly integrates MATLAB/Simulink for dynamic system modeling, the OPAL-RT OP4200 platform for rigorous Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation, and Connext® as the high-performance communication layer. By executing Simulink models on OPAL-RT’s dedicated digital simulator hardware and leveraging RTI Connext to share data in real time via a publish-subscribe model, this architecture provides a highly robust methodology for evaluating complex electrical grids under strict distributed and real-time constraints.
The proposed co-simulation framework is structured into two primary nodes, entirely decoupled and interconnected by Connext:
Node 1 (Master & Control): Integrates the Master Subsystem (MS) responsible for power generation and the Control System (CS). It calculates and publishes the system's state variables.
Node 2 (Electrical Load): Models the consumption device (e.g., an R-L-C network). It is excited by the Thévenin equivalent voltage source (V_MS) received from Node 1 and dynamically returns the demand current (I_demand) back to the co-simulation loop.
To ensure deterministic, real-time interaction, communication is governed by a strict signal contract divided into two distinct flows: Flow 1 (Node 1 --> DDS) and Flow 2 (Node 2 --> Node 1). Both flows use DDS to communicate between them.
This architecture leverages Quality of Service (QoS) policies of Connext to optimize data delivery for HIL testing. The communication layer is explicitly configured to prioritize the most recent data sample and completely eliminate message queuing. This ensures that the simulation loops never suffer from stale data or artificial delays, maintaining strict temporal alignment between the physical hardware and the digital models.
In summary, this work successfully demonstrates the feasibility, scalability, and good performance of a distributed real-time co-simulation architecture built on Connext and OPAL-RT. By establishing rigorous experimental guidelines, this research quantifies the direct impacts of network latency and sampling granularity on both temporal and electrical metrics. Ultimately, it offers a highly replicable, industrial-grade foundation for future studies in smart grid integration and distributed power systems.
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I would like to run my system in simulation time, rather than real time. Ideally, all components would be running in the simulated time domain. Is there any prior art for this mode?
Maybe one way would be to distort the QoS times according to a fixed time scale. Even better though, would be to have some way to use a simulated clock for all components.
The system can be limited to a single computer. The environment is pure SITL, not HITL, ofc.
Any suggestions?
The group focuses on the control of manufacturing machine systems with the aid of 3-D robotic simulation systems. We are setting up a Mechatronic Systems Platform to study problems characterized by the need for an integrated approach of product and production development and the need for agility in manufacturing environments. RTI's RTI Data Distribution Service is used to integrate robotic simulation systems with other simulators and hardware devices.
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