Development of a Foss-Based Hardware-in-the-loop Platform for Control Engineering Education

[摘要] This work deals with the development of a laboratory platform based on the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation techniques, designed and assembled for utilization as a didactic tool in the control engineering education area. It allows simulation and analysis of industrial control loops and controllers dynamics belonging to the shop floor operations, but with potentiality for operation in the supervisory level, incorporating safety and optimization techniques. The developed module, based on Java language and Eclipse compiler, that are Free Open Source Software ( FOSS) tools, encompasses a three-dimensional digital environment that simulates an industrial plant dynamics, but whose operation is based on hardware components: an external PID controller and an industrial inverter. Being a FOSS-based development this module has no restriction for its utilization. The interface between the hardware components and the three-dimensional digital environment is based upon a PIC 16F877A design. The developed module simulates, partially, the dynamics of a real pilot plant belonging to the Industrial Process Laboratory of the Engineering College of the UFJF, incorporating some of its complexities and nonlinearities and operates with the same time constants. The developed HIL platform, totally FOSS-based, can reinforce the educational laboratory practices for improving engineering education especially that one related to industrial process control, supervision, and optimization...

[学科分类] 自动化工程

[关键词] Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) ;FOSS ;Industrial process control ;Control engineering education