HIL-based virtual disturbance and parameter variations of controlled electric drive

The paper presents a method to obtain effects similar to those obtained by real mechanical loading, actuator and measurement noises and parameter variation but without any mechanical parts supplementary to the electric motor of the studied electric drive and without actually changing any electrical or mechanical parameter of the motor. The motor drive itself produces the load torque, noises and the parameter variations using a digital signal processing software. Therefore, the electric drive is virtually perturbed, while its behavior is similar to that of the really perturbed drive. The present method, which can be related to a class of hardware-in-the-loop simulations, could be used to test the implementation of advanced control algorithms or at didactic purposes using motion control kits found on the market.