Introduction to the Cell Monitoring Device Emulation Add-On for NI VeriStand

Introduction

The OPAL-RT Cell Monitoring Device Emulation Add-On for NI VeriStand is a powerful FPGA-based simulation tool for Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing of modern Battery Management Systems (BMS) used in power electronics applications. This tool facilitates rapid testing and validation of BMS by emulating battery cells and BMS chipset register commands using isoSPI™ technology, while maintaining the integrity of the SPI communication daisy-chain.

CMDE Add-On Features and Benefits

• FPGA-based Emulation: Enables accurate emulation of commercial cell monitoring devices while providing a realistic digital bus interface to the device under test.

• Expanded Test Coverage: Includes fault simulation capabilities such as temperature faults, open wires, broken communication links, and CRC errors, all without compromising security.

• Cost and Time Efficiency: Reduces the need for numerous physical cell emulators by virtualizing commercial integrated circuits designed for cell monitoring, while preserving isoSPI™ communication links.

• User-Friendly Interfaces: Offers simple and intuitive user interfaces for connecting emulated cell monitoring devices to cell chemistry models built in various modeling environments such as MathWorks Simulink, NI LabVIEW, and more.

• NI VeriStand Compatibility: The CMDE Add-On integrates seamlessly into the NI VeriStand platform, which supports automotive communication protocols (CAN, XNET, FlexRay), data acquisition hardware (DAQ), simulation models, and signal conditioning via SLSC, among other features.

Supported Devices

NI VeriStand Overview

NI VeriStand is an application software developed and maintained by NI. It enables the configuration of simulation models, I/O channels, data logging, stimulus generation, and host communication for NI Real-Time hardware.  Although this document does not focus on the features of VeriStand, it is beneficial to understand the typical VeriStand workflow and out-of-the-box features.  For more information, please see What is VeriStand?

Major Components of the VeriStand Environment:

• VeriStand Editor: Regroups all components of a VeriStand application. It allows access to project files, including the System Definition and Screen files, and is used to start, deploy, and stop Real-Time applications.

• System Explorer Window: Used to modify the System Definition file, which contains pre-execution settings of the Real-Time application. It manages DAQ hardware, XNET hardware, Custom Devices, simulation models, procedures, and more.

Document Structure

The document is divided into the following sections:

1. Getting Started: Outlines the software and hardware requirements of the CMDE Add-On, and provides installation and licensing instructions.  

2. CMDE Add-On Custom Device: Provides a detailed description of each component, parameter, and channel in the CMDE Add-On.  The structure of this section mirrors the structure of the configuration tree in the CMDE Add-On to simplify navigation.

3. How-To: Contains articles and tutorials explaining how to perform common tasks in the CMDE Add-On.

4. Release Notes: Summarizes the changes implemented in each release of the CMDE Add-On, and provides instructions for migrating to newer versions.

Cell Monitoring Device Emulation Workflow

The FPGA-based devices included in the CMDE Add-On can be configured to emulate various chipset combinations and simulate thousands of cell readings, GPIO signals, and temperature measurements, while maintaining a sample time on the order of 100ns. The workflow is straightforward:

1. Select Hardware Configuration: Choose the desired chipset and FPGA platform for emulation.

2. Configure Simulation Parameters: Set up the number of emulated devices, default values, and signal connections.

3. Connect BMS Unit: Connect a real or simulated BMS unit to the I/O of the selected NI hardware, with or without signal conditioning, to communicate with the emulated devices.

4. Deploy the Real-Time Application: Deploy the VeriStand project to the target.

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