Real-time Energy Management in Multi-Source, Multi-Charge Systems: Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Validation

This paper implements and validates a real-time Energy Management System (EMS) for DC microgrid operation using a power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) test bench. The test bench replicates renewable sources, a general load, and a Hybrid Energy Storage System (ESS) comprising a battery, an emulated fuel cell, an emulated electrolyzer, and a virtual hydrogen tank. Constructed with dSPACE and Simulink, the PHIL test bench facilitates the control and monitoring of DC sources, DC loads, and controllable DC/DC converters. The EMS technique combines an Optimal Dispatching (OD) algorithm with Model Predictive Control (MPC). While OD effectively reduces the total cost of grid utilization, it falls short in responding to actual disruptions and uncertainties. To address these issues, MPC is integrated with OD. This combination of OD with MPC offers two main advantages: it ensures a reduction in grid utilization and effectively manages perturbations and sudden interruptions.