PSIM: A Tutorial

Presentation OutlineWhat is PSIM?Circuit StructureGetting started with PSIMHands-on Examples

What is PSIM?PSIM is a simulation package specifically designed for power electronics and control circuits.Manufactured by Powersim Inc.( www.powersimtech.com )It allows fast simulation and it has a friendly user interface.PSIM is indicated for system-level simulation, control loop design and motor drive system studies. The basic PSIM package consists of three programs: circuit schematic program (SIMCAD), simulator program (PSIM), and waveform display program (SIMVIEW).

Circuit Structure

Circuit StructureSwitchControllersPowerCircuitControlCircuitSensors

On-Off controllersPWM controllersAlpha controllers

Switching devicesRLC branchesTransformersCoupled inductors

S-domain blocksZ-domain blocksLogic componentsNon-linear components

CurrentVoltageTorqueSpeed

Getting Started with PSIMStart PSIM: go to c:\PSIM6_DEMO -> PSIMNewcircuit

Getting Started with PSIMCreate a new circuitMenuToolbarCircuit windowElement toolbar

Getting Started with PSIMExample 1 1st Order System

Example 1 1st Order SystemInsert a DC Voltage Source from the Element Toolbar.

Example 1 1st Order SystemThe DC Voltage Source can also be found in Elements > Sources > Voltage > DC

Example 1 1st Order SystemAdd two Resistors to the circuit.To rotate an element click with the right button or use the icon Rotate the Selection.

Example 1 1st Order SystemAdd a Capacitor to the circuit.

Example 1 1st Order SystemTo connect the elements use the Wire tool.Left-click on the circuit and drag the line with the mouse.

Example 1 1st Order SystemInsert a Ground element.

Example 1 1st Order SystemDouble-click on the element to set its parameters.Set all the parameters values.Just close the window to set the new value.

Example 1 1st Order SystemSet the simulation parameters: Insert a Simulation Control block.

Example 1 1st Order SystemSet the simulation parameters: Time Step and Total Time.

Example 1 1st Order SystemInsert a Voltage Probe (node to ground).Double-click on the voltage probe to change its name to Vo.

Example 1 1st Order SystemStart the simulation

Example 1 1st Order SystemSelect the variable Vo.

Example 1 1st Order SystemSet the colors.

Example 1 1st Order SystemUse the Zoom tool and buttons to select a specific area you want to see.

Example 1 1st Order SystemOutput file: *.txtWhat is the expected steady-state output voltage?Measure tool.

Example 2: Voltage Controller

Example 2: Voltage ControllerCreate a new circuit.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerInsert a Sinusoidal Voltage Source.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdd two Thyristors to the circuit.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerInsert a R-L Branch.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerConnect all the elements.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdd an Alpha Controller to the circuit.

Example 2: Voltage Controller

Example 2: Voltage ControllerDouble-click on the block and click on Help to understand this block.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdd a Voltage Sensor to the circuit to synchronize the gating signal.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerInsert a Comparator to detect the zero crossing (from Elements > Control > Comparator or from the Element toolbar)

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdd a Ground to the circuit. Insert a DC Voltage Source. Change its name to Alpha and display it.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerInsert a Step Voltage Source. Change its name to Enable and display it.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerUsing Labels to make connections: insert a Label and name it G1.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerConnect the Label to the output of the Alpha Controller block. Insert another Label, name it G1 and connect it to the gate port of Thyristor 1.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerCreate the alpha controller for the other Thyristor.Insert a Voltage Sensor, a Comparator and an Alpha Controller block.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerUse Labels for the Enable signal (E), Alpha signal (A) and Gate signal for Thyristor 2 (G2).

Example 2: Voltage ControllerInsert an input Voltage Probe (Vi), an output Voltage Probe (Vo) and an output Current Probe (Io).

Example 2: Voltage ControllerInsert a Simulation Control block. Set the simulation time to 50 mili-seconds

Example 2: Voltage ControllerSet all the parameters values. Set the Alpha angle to 30o.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerRun the Simulation. Plot Vi and Vo.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdd a new Screen and plot Io.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerOther tools: FFT and AVG.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerOther tools: FFT and AVG.Run the circuit for Alpha equals to 60o and 90o.

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdditional measurements: load power, RMS current and power factor. (Example 5-2; Hart; pg 170)Add a Watt Metter from Elements > Other > Probes > Watt MetterChange the Time Step, Total Time and Print Step

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdditional measurements: load power, RMS current and power factor. Add a Current Sensor and two RMS blocks from Elements > Control > Computational Blocks > RMSAdd Voltage Probes to measure the RMS values

Example 2: Voltage ControllerAdditional measurements: load power, RMS current and power factor.

Example 3: Semiconverter

Example 3: SemiconverterCreate a new circuit. Insert a Three-Phase Voltage Source.

Example 3: SemiconverterInsert all the other power elements and connect them.

Example 3: SemiconverterInsert and connect the Alpha Controllers.

Example 3: SemiconverterInsert the Sources for the angle Alpha and for the Enable signal.

Example 3: SemiconverterConnect the Gate signals, insert a Simulation Control (50 ms) and set all the parameters.Insert an input Voltage Probe, an output Voltage Probe, an input Current Probe and an output Current Probe.

Example 3: SemiconverterRun the circuit for Alpha equals to 30, 60 and 90 degrees. Check the results.

Example 3: SemiconverterImplement the additional measurements for this circuit: THD, load power, RMS current and power factor.Exercise:See Ex. 5.9; Rashid; pg 156

Good afternoon. My name is Jeferson Correa. I am a Ph. D. Student and I work with Dr. Simes with power electronics and control systems.I am going to present to you a tutorial about PSIM, a simulation package for power electronics and also for control systems.I divided my presentation in this main topics:First of all: what is PSIM?Then I am going to present the circuit structure to be used with PSIMAfter we are going to start using PSIM and I am going to present some basic operations with PSIM, like inserting components, building a simple circuit and using measurements on the circuit;Then we are going to do to together some examples and, finally, you will have an exercise to do, ok?So; lets start looking of what is PSIM.Well, PSIM is a simlatoin package desinged for both power electronics and control systems.It is manufactured by the the company PowerSim, whose web site is www,powersimtech.com.You can download the evaluation version from this site.PSIM allows fast simulation and its interface is very friendly to the user.It is indicated for system-level simulation, including control loop design and motor drive systems.Different from PSPICe, for example, PSIM is not indicated for devices studies.The PSIM package contains three programs: the circuit schematic program (SIMCAD), the simulator program (PSIM) and the waveform display program (SIMVIEW)

The circuit structure in PSIM is composed of the power circuit and the control circuit levels. The switch controllers conect the control systems signals to the power circuit devices and the sensors get information from the power circuit level to the control circuit level.On the power Circuit we can have the swtching devices, such as IGBTs, MOSFETs; the RLC branches, transformers and also coupled inductors.On the control circuit we can have: S-domain blocks, Z-domain blocks, logic components, such as flip-flops and gates; and also non-linear components, such as limiters and comparators.On the switch controllers group we can have:As sensors, we can use current sensors,voltage, torque and speed.

So, now, lets start with PSIM. We installed PSIM on all these computers. So, you can go to Start>Program>SIMCAD>Simcad.If there is no icon there, you can start the Windows Explorer and go to C:\Program Files\PSIM-Student Version\ and then select SIMCAD.When you start PSIM you will have this window open. You can go to Help and then About Simcad... To check the version which is 6.0 in our case.Lets use the New Circuit icon to start a new circuit. You can click on this icon to start, ok?Do the same with the other elements