What’s New in PSIM 2020a

PSIM 2020a includes many new functions and improvements. Key new features are:

• New ac sweep block with faster simulation• New script functions• High-frequency PMSM model• New EMI standards added in SIMVIEW• Improved online help• New Hardware Target for auto code generation for TI F28004x DSP• Support of PE-Expert4 for multi-level and multi-modular converters• Link to the new super-fast simulation engine DSIM• Link with RidleyWorks• Export to Typhoon HIL for HIL simulation

What’s New in 2020a

PSIM Improvements

New Script Functions and Improved Help

New script functions (for example, computation functions and FFT function) are added to make PSIM’s script

function even more powerful.

In addition, to make it easier to understand and use script functions, the online help for script is completely

redone. For example, the figure below shows a section of the script code. By highlighting the function

BodePlot and clicking on the F1 key (or go to Help), one can see how this function is defined, and examples

that use this function.

New AC Sweep Block

AC sweep can be time consuming. To speed up the analysis, a new ac sweep block, AC Sweep (2), is added.

Unlike the conventional ac sweep block, this block will run a circuit to the steady state. Then inject the

excitation signal and run a few more cycles before taking the ac sweep measurement.

Examples show that, in certain cases, the new approach can be much faster than the conventional approach.

What’s New in 2020a

Dead Time Implementation

Dead time often needs to be considered in converter control. To make it easier for users, dead time is added

as a parameter for the switch controllers shown below.

The dead time parameter can be set to 0 if desired.

High-Frequency PMSM Model

A PMSM model that takes into account the high-frequency effect is provided. With this model, it is possible to

study the effect of a long ac cable on the voltage spike.

By taking into account inverter stray capacitances, the ac cable, and high-frequency parameters, one can study

how the high dv/dt of the inverter impacts the drive system and how cable parameters can be properly

selected to mitigate the effect.

The figure below, for example, shows an PMSM drive system with an ac cable, and with LISN and output filters.

PWM

Q

Qn

Vcr

QD

freq

delay

Qn

Square WavePWM

Qz

Vcr

Qn

QD

delay

z

Qn

Square Wave

What’s New in 2020a

The waveforms on the left above are without the LISN and inverter output filters; and the waveforms on the

right above are with the filters. EMI standards are superimposed on the waveforms. One can clearly see and

evaluate the influence of filters on the high-frequency components.

To learn more on simulating a motor drive system with the cable and high-frequency model, watch the

webinar below:

Motor drive with cable, non-ideal switches, and high-frequency machine model

Additional EMI Standards Added to SIMVIEW

In order to facilitate EMI analysis, the following additional EMI standards are added to SIMVIEW:

CISPR 25 (Class 1)

CISPR 25 (Class 2)

CISPR 25 (Class 4)

CISPR 25 (Class 5)

CISPR 32/22 (Class A)

CISPR 32/22 (Class B)

These standards are shown in this figure:

What’s New in 2020a

Additional Examples

Additional examples are added to the example set in applications in multi-level converters, LLC resonant

converters, motor drives, etc.

Improved Online Help

The online help has been greatly improved. Additional sections Examples, Applications, Tutorials, and See also,

have been added whenever applicable. Hyperlinks are provided so that one can launch an example schematic

directly, or open a PDF or video tutorial, or go to other relevant elements. This makes it much easier to access

the vast support resources available in PSIM.

For example, the figure below shows a buck converter with the MOSFET IRFP460 from the Thermal Module

element library. The online help page of this element shows the example file, the relevant PDF and video

tutorials, and other Thermal Module elements. All links are clickable.

What’s New in 2020a

SimCoder

F28004x Hardware Target

A new F28004x Hardware Target is provided to support TI F28004x DSP for auto code generation. All major

DSP functions, such as ADC, PWM (including high-resolution PWM), digital input/output, SCI, SPI, CAN,

counter, encoder, etc., can be easily implemented with the built-in blocks.

The image below shows the library blocks in the F28004x Target.

To learn more on how to use the auto code generation feature, watch the videos below:

Getting started with auto code generation Advanced PWM control in auto code generation

What’s New in 2020a

Support of PE-Expert4 for MMC Applications

New functions are added, and existing functions are revised in Myway’s PE-Expert4 hardware platform to

facilitate the implementation of multi-level and multi-modular converter (MMC) applications.

These functions are supported in SimCoder’s PE-Expert4 Target.

For example, the figure below shows a MMC system controlled using the PWM block from the PE-Expert4

Target. PSIM can perform simulation first to validate the control algorithm, and then generate the required

hardware code automatically.

The code generated by PSIM is ready to run on PE-Expert4 as it is, and there is no need for manual coding for

either DSP or FPGA. This greatly accelerates the development process.

What’s New in 2020a

Link with DSIM

DSIM is a new simulation engine designed specifically for power electronics. With a ground-breaking

simulation algorithm and modelling approach, it achieves an unprecedented and unparalleled performance. It

is the fastest simulator in the world and is several orders of magnitude faster than any existing simulation

software.

Moreover, it has the capability to simulate detailed physical device models with minor impact on the

simulation speed.

For example, the following 10-kV 2-MW power converter system consists of 576 switches operating at up to

20 kHz. It only took DSIM 10 sec. to complete a 0.1 sec. simulation. In this case, it is over 1000x faster than

another leading simulation software.

Another example is a 50-kVA solid state transformer. It consists of 24 switches, with detailed physical models

of IGBT and SiC MOSFET. It took DSIM 6 sec. to complete a 0.1 sec. simulation.

The combination of the fast simulation speed and the capability to simulate physical device models makes

DSIM ideally suited for large scale power converter systems, high power converter systems, microgrids, and

any applications that are computation intensive.

DSIM is seamlessly integrated in the PSIM environment. It is available as a stand-alone option or in

combination with PSIM.

To learn more about DSIM, watch the webinars below:

Introduction to DSIM Simulating motor drives with DSIM

Link from RidleyWorks

RidleyWorks is a design software from Ridley Engineering. After completing the design in RidleyWorks, one can

export the design, including the design parameters and schematic that is ready to simulate, into PSIM, as

shown below.

Furthermore, one can perform ac sweep of the circuit in switchmode using the new AC Sweep (2) block. For

this circuit, it took 100 sec. to complete the ac sweep in PSIM, while it took over 3+ hours in LTspice.

With the speed and many more functionalities in PSIM, for example, script functions, one can greatly speed up

the development process.

To learn more on the link, please watch the webinar below:

Introduction to the RidleyWorks link

What’s New in 2020a

Export to Typhoon HIL for HIL Simulation

A function is provided to export the power stage from PSIM to Typhoon HIL for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL)

simulation.

For example, below is a simple 3-phase circuit with a diode bridge.

After simulation in PSIM, one can export this power stage to Typhoon HIL by clicking on the export icon in

PSIM as shown below:

This will automatically compile the power stage into a Typhoon model file. The model can then be loaded into

the Typhoon SCADA tool to run the HIL simulation.

This function provides seamless transition from offline simulation to HIL simulation. To learn more on the

Typhoon HIL export function, please watch the webinar below:

Exporting from PSIM to Typhoon HIL

Summary of Resources:

Webinars:

Motor drive with cable, non-ideal switches, and high-frequency machine model

Introduction to DSIM Simulating motor drives with DSIM

Introduction to the RidleyWorks link Exporting from PSIM to Typhoon HIL

Automatic Code Generation videos:

Getting started with auto code generation Advanced PWM control in auto code generation

What’s New in 2020a