Reconfigurable Power Quality Analyzer Applied to Hardware-in-Loop Test Bench

Abstract

Integration of renewable energy resources and conventional grids leads to an increase in power quality issues. These power quality issues require different standards to be followed for accurate measurement and monitoring of various parameters of the power system. Conventional power quality analyzers (PQAs) are programmed to a particular standard and cannot be reconfigured by the end user. Therefore, conventional PQAs cannot meet the challenges of a rapidly changing grid. In this regard, a Compact RIO-based (CRIO-based) PQA was proposed, that can be easily reprogrammed and cope with the challenges faced by conventional PQAs. The salient features of the proposed PQA are a high processing speed, interactive interface, and high-quality data-storage capacity. Moreover, unlike conventional PQAs, the proposed PQA can be monitored remotely via the internet. In this research, a hardware-in-loop (HIL) simulation is used for performing the power-quality assessment in a systematic manner. Power quality indices such as apparent power, power factor, harmonics, frequency disturbance, inrush current, voltage sag and voltage swell are considered for validating the performance of the proposed PQA against the Fluke’s PQA 43-B.