The digital twin of complex shipboard DC microgrids: The high‐performing synergy of compiled models and HIL platform in the dynamics emulation of zonal power electronic power distribution systems

Abstract Nowadays, resilience is a crucial attribute to be pursued in advanced shipboard DC microgrids. When the power distribution is zonal, the presence of autonomous‐controlled converters guarantees both power use and resiliency improvement. The adoption of bidirectional controlled devices ensures power routing among generating units, storage, and loads. Moreover, zonal electrical distribution systems are effective in applying the optimization algorithms for green, safe, and high‐performing ship operation. In zonal DC microgrids, real‐time cooperation among controlled converters through properly set communication protocols enables the ship mission achievement. To this aim, functional tests are to be done on such complex power infrastructure. The digital twin approach provides the de‐risking step before the onboard deployment for controlled systems and communication. A zonal DC shipboard microgrid is the case study to test the synergy between compiled models and power converters on two hardware in the loop platforms, then verified by experiment in this paper. The first platform exploits the Linux real time application interface on the average value models of converters. This solution is then compared with a platform that utilizes the Typhoon hardware in the loop environment, proposing a combination of average value models and detailed switching models for the real‐time emulation of controlled grid.