Event-Driven Simulation of Power Electronics Rich Grid Models

Abstract

Power-electronics systems should be treated according to their natural mathematical structure---inherent switching and discontinuities with piecewise continuous states. Therefore, the simulator should be organized around events, switching topologies, and topology intervals, rather than only around a continuous-time solver that later corrects or smooths discontinuities. This paper presents a simple, event-driven EMT architecture using native C kernels with Python orchestration. With this method, we distill the essential elements of discrete-event simulation applied to power electronics problems and thereby point toward a broad research thrust wherein mature ideas from discrete-event simulation are adapted for use in simulating power electronics circuits.