One inverter, multiple motors, multiple mission profiles. Thanks to its new high-power motor emulator, Cetim enables inverter manufacturers, system integrators and OEMs to rapidly evaluate numerous configurations without physically changing motors.
The result: accelerated test campaigns, optimized sizing and tuning of electrical systems and power converter cooling, improved control of failure risks, and reduced energy consumption from the grid during high-power testing.
Cetim is strengthening its support capabilities for manufacturers involved in electrification with the acquisition of a high-power motor emulator. This equipment can reproduce in real time the electrical behaviour of different motor types and operate a real inverter under load without the need for a physical motor.
Rapidly Testing Multiple Configurations
The growing diversity of electric powertrains and applications is driving inverter manufacturers, integrators and OEMs to increase testing activities and validate their equipment under an ever-wider range of operating conditions. Through motor emulation, a single inverter can be tested successively with different motors, loads and mission profiles, with configurations modified entirely through software.
This allows manufacturers to quickly explore their own operating scenarios and identify the configurations that require further investigation before final validation phases. This approach is particularly suited to off-road applications, as well as the automotive, micromobility and energy sectors.
Characterising Inverters and Optimising Electric Drivetrains
The emulator enables the characterisation of variable frequency drives (VFDs) and inverters by operating them under load while simulating in real time the electrical behaviour of synchronous and asynchronous motors under a range of operating parameters.
Combined with a Speedgoat real-time simulator, the system supports Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) testing by coupling a real inverter with a real-time simulated motor environment. This architecture makes it possible to evaluate a large number of configurations and assess inverter performance under representative operating conditions without changing physical motors between tests.
The characterisation data generated by the emulator can be used to feed and validate digital models while improving understanding of the underlying physical phenomena involved in electric drive systems. These tests make it possible to analyse the electrical and thermal stresses experienced by inverters, optimise their sizing, settings (or those of the motor) and cooling solutions, as well as assess control and protection strategies. They also help identify phenomena that may accelerate component ageing, thereby improving equipment reliability and service life.
A High-Power Capability with Energy Recovery
Installed in Cetim’s Mulhouse laboratories, the new equipment covers a voltage range from 40 to 1,000 V DC and delivers a power capacity of 2 × 500 kW.
Its energy recovery and recirculation architecture enables a large proportion of the energy involved in testing to be reused. External power supply requirements are therefore mainly limited to compensating system losses and the specific needs of the test itself, reducing both grid power demand and the overall energy required for high-power test campaigns.
The emulator complements the back-to-back motor test bench already available at Cetim. It enables engineers to rapidly explore multiple configurations and characterise inverter performance before comparing results with physical machines and validating the complete electric drivetrain in its final configuration.
This complementary approach allows Cetim to support manufacturers from the earliest development stages through to the validation of electric propulsion systems, leveraging its expertise in power electronics, thermal management, reliability engineering and system integration. Beyond industrial services, the new equipment will also contribute to Cetim’s research activities in electrification.
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