CIGRE DLL Toolbox

Interface EMTP with a control DLL

The CIGRE DLL toolbox enables automatic interfacing with EMTP DLLs created according to the IEEE/CIGRE DLL format developed by the Joint IEEE TASS Task Force and CIGRE B4.82 Working Group, “Use of real-code in EMT models for power system analysis.” This standard has been adopted by most major converter manufacturers in the industry.

It allows the inclusion of user-defined code or controller code replicas (software-in-the-loop) within a control scheme in EMTP. The DLL code is executed based on the sampling time value defined in the DLL. Interpolation is applied if the simulation time-step differs from the DLL sampling time.

A control device linked to the DLL is automatically created with all input and output ports defined in the DLL. A mask with the DLL’s tunable parameters is available. Initialization options are provided to allow “flat-starting” the controller from load-flow results. Snapshot files may also be used.

Multiple instances of the DLL can be invoked in the same simulation. No compiler is required to use this toolbox.

It is recommended to always use this toolbox to interface control codes with EMTP, as it provides a higher level of assurance that the code will remain compatible with future EMTP versions. This interface is also optimized for EMTP solvers and delivers better performance in terms of simulation speed and numerical stability than custom-built interfaces.

Licensing:

2 licenses are available with this toolbox:

The Built license which allows to load a DLL and create the associated control device. Thislicense is typically used by original equipment manufacturer to create their controller replica.
The Read-Only license which only allows to tune the already created device and performed simulations. This option is typically preferred for the end-users of the model. This license is free..

Before loading a DLL

After loading a DLL

Example of a GFM backbox control integrated into EMTP

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The models are completely open allowing users to access and modify their content, which is particularly important for park studies that require the exact replica of the inverter control to be used.

Manufacturer models can be added to this toolbox.

A Time-domain Impedance Scan tool is available and offers a way to efficiently obtain an accurate impedance profile of the inverter-based resource and assess the risk of sub-synchronous control interactions.

The models from the Renewables toolbox are compatible with all simulation types EMTP ^® offers, the load-flow, steady-state, time domain and frequency-scan analysis. The load flow results are used to automatically initialize the plant models for time-domain simulation, allowing to perform flat-start.

Wind park flat start and fault at 1s

A comprehensive documentation is provided with the Toolbox, but we are available to support and guide the users as much as possible.