Typhoon HIL are market and technology leaders in the rapidly growing field of ultra-high-fidelity controller-hardware-in-the-loop (cHIL) instruments for power electronics, automotive powertrains, microgrids and electricity distribution networks.

The first innovative product is the new Typhoon HIL402 , a notebook sized HIL emulator offering ultra-high fidelity real-time simulation. It allows engineers to design, test and verify controllers and control systems for applications such as smart inverters for solar and wind power, micro-grids and battery storage systems as well as hybrid and fully electric automotive powertrains.

The HIL402 is designed to simplify work in all stages of the control development, from prototyping, through verification, all the way to fine-tuning of the production-ready controller.

With a 1 µs real-time simulation time step, 20 ns pulse width modulation (PWM) sampling time and ultra-low latency, offering 16 Analogue and 32 Digital inputs and outputs this HIL instrument sets the industry standard for real-time emulation of power electronics systems.

Its streamlined test suite allows one click operation of complex testing scenarios, and simulations can run accurately for days, weeks or months thanks to the sophisticated hardware platform and advanced numerical algorithms. The integrated oscilloscope function captures the 16 analogue and 32 digital channels with a 32 Mpts record length and the 1 MHz sample rate.

The HIL402 also comes with a new signal processing toolbox which has a comprehensive library of signal processing components that can be seamlessly integrated with electrical domain elements.

The Typhoon hardware-in-the-loop system is also useful in educational establishments since educators and researchers in the power electronics field can use it to perform research at a fraction of the cost of traditional power electronics laboratories, while giving their students industry relevant
hands-on experience in a completely safe teaching environment.

High speed interconnection

Also available is the more powerful Typhoon HIL602 using a six-core processor for real time emulation. This ultra-high fidelity HIL simulator is an ideal tool for the development, testing, optimisation and quality assurance of grid connected converters such as solar and wind power generation, as well as automotive converters, electric propulsion drives, micro-grids and industry automation.

HIL602 units can be connected into one large, unified, super-HIL emulator using the lightning-fast 5 Gb/s real-time communication link. With a few cables, HIL602 emulators are transformed from a portable standalone HILs into a full blown HIL cluster emulator.

It is easy to simulate large power electronics systems, from micro-grids to parallel converter, maintaining the 1 µs simulation time step, 20 ns PWM resolution and the signature ultra-high fidelity.

For those not particularly familiar with the field, Typhoon HIL have started to run introductory webinars on HIL testing in power electronics. They take place on the first Thursday of every month.

The new RTH Scope Rider from Rohde & Schwarz is a portable digital oscilloscope with the capabilities of a laboratory instrument. Available from MDL Technologies, it has an acquisition rate of 50 000 waveforms per second, a 10 bit A/D converter and a maximum bandwidth of 500 MHz for the analogue input channels.

Effectively five instruments in one, it combines a laboratory performance oscilloscope, a logic analyser with eight additional digital channels, a protocol analyser with trigger and decoding capability, a data logger and a digital multimeter.

The rugged, 2.4 kg unit has a large?format capacitive touchscreen that allows it to be operated as intuitively as a tablet PC. Large buttons make it simple to use with gloved hands and a multifunction wheel allows easy parameter selection.

IP51 protection is provided from environmental hazards such as dust and dripping water, and the unit has passed all mechanical load tests in line with military standards.

The fully isolated instrument provides more than four hours of battery runtime and meets the safety requirements of IEC 61010-1 for CAT IV up to 600V and for CAT III up to 1000V.

The Scope Rider will be invaluable for testing equipment in a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, defence, energy, industrial automation, medical instrumentation and power electronics.

As well as a microSD card, it houses USB and Ethernet ports and an integrated WLAN interface, enabling it to be remotely controlled by a smartphone, tablet PC or laptop.

MDL stocks the units as a Value Instruments Partner of Rohde & Schwarz, and there are two special offers running until 30 June 2016. For purchasers of the two channel Scope Rider there is a free extended accessory field package comprising a wireless LAN, web interface remote control, hard shell protective carrying case, car adapter, battery charger and extended accessory set.

With purchase of the four channel model, a free lab application package consists of units for mixed signal analysis, I2C/SPI serial triggering and decoding, UART/RS-232 serial triggering and decoding, and advanced triggering.