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Video: 2.2. HIL SCADA
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TRANSCRIPT

00:00:02

Hello, today we are going to demonstrate our HIL SCADA environment. Typhoon HIL SCADA is a simple,  

00:00:08

easy to use graphical environment that allows you to create your own unique interface with  

00:00:12

the real-time model. For the sake of this presentation, we will open and compile our  

00:00:18

already created model from the 2.1 Schematic Editor introduction module. This model consists  

00:00:23

of a voltage source, a three-phase inverter, and an induction machine. Let’s compile this  

00:00:29

model using the Compile and Load button. This function will open HIL SCADA automatically. 

00:00:50

If you don’t have a connected device of the correct version, in this case HIL 404,  

00:00:55

you may get an error message. After you acknowledge the error, a popup  

00:01:00

will appear, letting you choose from several alternatives for loading the model in SCADA.  

00:01:05

Let’s click on Load Model to the Virtual Device. The Virtual Device is a software module within  

00:01:11

the Typhoon HIL software tool-chain which emulates Typhoon HIL 4-series and 6-series devices on a PC.  

00:01:18

Due to the software-based nature of the Virtual HIL Device, there is no external IO support,  

00:01:24

and models are not run in real-time.Once the device is loaded, a list of recently  

00:01:40

opened panels appears on the main screen. In addition, we can access the Command Toolbar,  

00:01:45

the Library Dock, the Panel Explorer Dock, the Model Explorer, the Model Settings Dock,  

00:01:51

the Namespace Explorer, the Panel tabs, the Message Log Dock, the History Dock,  

00:01:56

and the Status Bar. We will be using these toolbars and docks throughout the module. 

00:02:02

First let’s create a new SCADA panel and run the simulation.  

00:02:05

You can find the Start and Stop simulation buttons on the Command toolbar.  

00:02:10

On the bottom right, you can see the time of the simulation and the model of the simulation. Now we  

00:02:16

will be adding a few monitoring and action widgets to see and interact with the simulation. First,  

00:02:21

let’s find a few measurement names from the model by looking for it in the Model Explorer tab. 

00:02:29

Let’s insert machine speed and the measurement of the RMS value of the current. 

00:02:37

After dragging and dropping the measurement name into the SCADA panel, the widget wizard  

00:02:41

opens. In this wizard, we can choose which widget we will use to represent this value.  

00:02:47

The widgets that we can use are gauge, digital display, bar graph, trace graph,  

00:02:52

text display, or signal data logger. Let’s use a trace graph for the machine speed,  

00:02:57

and a digital display for the current measurement using the widget wizard. 

00:03:07

Let’s open the machine speed Trace graph properties and change the Advanced settings  

00:03:11

of the widget. In the Advanced settings tab, you can find the plot settings, which define the x and  

00:03:17

y axis text, the y axis range, the time window, and the background color. In this case, let's  

00:03:24

uncheck auto scale for the y axis range, and set the minimum and maximum range from -200 to 200. 

00:03:34

Widgets can also be added from the Library Explorer.  

00:03:37

Let’s add another widget that will represent instantaneous speed quite nicely.  

00:03:41

For displaying the speed, you can use the gauge widget.  

00:03:45

You can find it in the Library, in the Monitoring section. Let’s drag and drop a gauge widget. 

00:03:53

Let’s open the properties by double-clicking on the widget. Let’s rename it to “speed”. Then,  

00:03:59

in the Signal settings group, choose the name of the probe “machine speed”  

00:04:02

in the Analog signal text box. After that let’s open the Advanced settings dialog.  

00:04:09

Here you can set the measurement range, as well as the warning and critical range.  

00:04:14

Let’s set the minimum and the maximum speed to -200 and 200 radians per seconds.  

00:04:19

Let's also set two critical ranges: one from 150 to 200, and the second from -200 to -150. 

00:04:33

We can see that there are zeros for the values of each widget. Let’s enable the inverter. To  

00:04:38

do that we need to use Action widgets. Let’s find Inverter enable in Model Explorer dock.  

00:04:45

Model Explorer allows you to choose your widgets contextually, based on signal type (i.e. model  

00:04:51

input or output). Since Inverter enable is an input to the model, we can choose between knob,  

00:04:56

slider, and text box widgets. Let’s use a text box. To enable the inverter,  

00:05:03

we need to set Inverter enable to 1. Let’s write 1 to the Inverter Enable text box.  

00:05:09

This value will propagate and enable the internal modulator of the inverter. 

00:05:16

Let’s do the same thing for torque “T”, only in this case let’s use a slider. 

00:05:23

Let’s stop here for a second and introduce the Model Settings dock on the right side of HIL  

00:05:27

SCADA. Here you can change all controllable variables from the model, such as Sources ,  

00:05:36

switches in the Switching Blocks , Machines, SCADA inputs,  

00:05:45

and any other types of Model components you have included in your model. Also, here you can  

00:05:50

define all analog and digital outputs from the HIL device. Now let’s go back to the SCADA panel. 

00:05:57

To find more properties of this slider widget let’s double-click on it to open the Slider  

00:06:01

macro widget properties. In the Basic settings you can find the name of the slider, description,  

00:06:08

slider properties, and macro code.Now it is a perfect time to talk little about  

00:06:13

HIL API possibilities. In the Macro code section, you can use Typhoon HIL API functions. You don’t  

00:06:21

need to be an expert in Python to use HIL SCADA to its full potential. Our API Wizard teaches you  

00:06:27

both Python syntax and HIL API, by converting GUI commands to Python code. The API Wizard is  

00:06:34

accessible when you are using the Code Editor, and can be turned on and off using the View menu. 

00:06:42

Inside the API Wizard, you can find all control variables from Model Settings as  

00:06:47

well as Capture commands and Other commands, such as Read analog signal and Read digital signal.  

00:06:53

By clicking the Insert button, you can easily add your desired code. You can find more information  

00:06:58

about HIL API in our HIL API documentation. A link is included in the References section. 

00:07:05

Now let’s return to the Slider macro widget properties menu. Let’s set the Slider properties  

00:07:10

to -5 for minimum (wait 3 sec), 5 for maximum (wait 3 sec), and step to 0.5 (wait 3 sec),  

00:07:24

and click Ok. We can go to the Library dock to find other interesting widgets. 

00:07:29

Here you can find widgets for Action, Monitoring, Data Logging, Analysis, Connection, and Visual.  

00:07:37

One especially useful component is Capture/Scope. Let’s drag and drop the Capture/Scope component  

00:07:42

from the library. Capture/Scope is a special monitoring widget that enables you to easily  

00:07:47

Capture desired signals for offline analysis, or to use Scope mode to observe signals in runtime.  

00:07:54

You can use only one Capture/Scope widget per SCADA panel. Now, let’s enter the widget  

00:07:59

and add a few signals. Clicking Signals opens the Scope signals properties window.  

00:08:04

Here we can add analog and digital signals. Let’s add analog signals  

00:08:09

of interest for us such as current on the DC link (Idc), line-to-line voltage (Vab),  

00:08:14

and machine current (Iarms). To do that click plus and let’s add these signals. 

00:08:30

The Capture/Scope window has up to 4 different viewports.  

00:08:33

Let’s view each signal in its own viewport. To do that we just need to check the check boxes.  

00:08:39

Also, you can change the time interval for the viewports via the dropdown menu on the right. 

00:08:50

Capture/Scope let’s us perform a capture over some time interval. To do that let’s switch from Scope  

00:08:55

to Capture using the combo box. Clicking the small gear on the right side of the combo box  

00:09:01

lets us import all signal settings from Scope. To the right are the Enable trigger and Force capture  

00:09:06

buttons. Also, let’s change the time interval of the capture to 0.1 seconds. The maximum sample  

00:09:13

rate is closely related to the time step of the simulation. Now let’s do a force trigger. 

00:09:25

You will find out more about Capture/Scope in the User-model  

00:09:28

interaction and data acquisition module.Finally, let’s cover some last topics  

00:09:33

that may be useful. First, let’s save this SCADA panel so we can come back to it later.  

00:09:39

This is done by clicking the Save a Panel file button on the Command toolbar,  

00:09:43

or by navigating to the Save Panel button in the Panel menu. SCADA Panels are saved as .cus files. 

00:09:51

Just to the right of the Save Panel file buttons, you can find the Panel Initialization button.  

00:09:56

Here you can include various Python libraries or set the initial values for model settings. 

00:10:02

Besides Python libraries that come with the software installation, HIL SCADA allows you to  

00:10:07

import additional Python libraries. These Python libraries can relate to co-simulation tools,  

00:10:13

communication protocols, machine learning libraries, and much more. This means that HIL  

00:10:19

SCADA not only enables you to interface with the HIL device, but other equipment in the real world.  

00:10:25

This mode is known as Standalone HIL SCADA and comes preinstalled as a separate application.  

00:10:32

However, for working with a HIL device, you should generally use  

00:10:35

HIL SCADA from the main software screen.With this, you have gained a basic overview  

00:10:40

of how to build a SCADA panel and how you can use it to parameterize and control a model.  

00:10:46

Feel free to experiment with the other widgets at your disposal and build the SCADA panel you need.  

00:10:51

For some interesting demonstrations on practical applications of HIL SCADA using these tools,  

00:10:56

check out some of our Application Note resources below.

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