Code development of a DSP-FPGA based control platform for power electronics applications

This paper focuses on the implementation of power electronics algorithms in control platforms based on DSP-FPGA. Today's power electronics technology demands high power computation with high speed interfacing at the same time. The most popular configuration is a DSP for the former and a FPGA for the latter. The main goal of this work was to develop a generic control system for power electronics application, but it is explained for an active power electronic transformer, which will be an active player in the energy storage, management and production game in the smart grids. Thus, demands for the control system are high, so it is mandatory to have a reliable, fast and user friendly control algorithm basis. The control board (SH363) used in this work contains a SHARC ADSP21363 DSP and a CYCLONE II EP2C8F256I8N FPGA. FPGA as a system interface, critical and non-critical communications between DSP and FPGA, including synchronization, and DSP programming are detailed. Also, a PC interface has been developed for an easy debugging and future system management. The methods used to achieve the maximum loop control frequency and the issues found during the implementation are discussed. The performance of the control board of the active power electronic transformer is verified experimentally.