HIL SCADA

Description of the HIL SCADA tool in Typhoon HIL Control Center

Note: An interactive overview of the concepts and/or capabilities described here are available as part of the HIL Specialist 2.0 certification program on HIL Academy, as well as in the video Knowledgebase.

Typhoon HIL SCADA is a simple, easy-to-use graphical environment that allows you to create your own specific interface with your real-time model. HIL SCADA is the successor of the widely-used tools HIL Control Panel and Custom UI.

Using HIL SCADA widgets, combined with the strength of Python macro and expression scripts, you can control and observe not only your HIL simulation but also your own external device(s).

The HIL SCADA application has two basic functions:

it downloads simulation models to the HIL platform, and
it controls the emulation process, parameters, and outputs.

When HIL SCADA is started, it shows the recently opened compiled Model (.cpd) files (Figure 1). After you select the desired model, HIL SCADA will attempt to establish a connection with an appropriate HIL device for the compiled model. Then, it will upload the Model settings to the connected HIL device.

Note: It is possible to load selected Model directly to the Virtual HIL by clicking on

icon or in Panel edit mode by clicking on

icon.

Note: The appropriate HIL device is determined by the Device section of the Model Settings for the compiled model.

Figure 1. HIL SCADA after starting the application

In case HIL SCADA cannot establish a connection with an appropriate HIL device, a connection problem window will pop up (Figure 2).

The reasons for the connection error may be:

the appropriate HIL simulator device is not connected (for example, with the Device Manager tool)
the appropriate HIL simulator device is turned off
USB drivers are not properly installed

Note: In case that a connection cannot be established, you can still open HIL SCADA by choosing the first option and entering Panel edit mode. In Panel edit mode, you can only use HIL SCADA to setup the environment (Panel(s) and Model) and save the configuration to a Panel settings (*.cus) and/or to a Model settings file (*.runx). You will not be able to start the simulation. To exit Panel edit mode, connect the HIL device to a PC, power on the HIL device, and then reload the model or open a new model.

HIL devices also have a Virtual HIL (or VHIL) option available to them. Virtual HIL is a software module within the Typhoon HIL software toolchain which emulates Typhoon HIL simulator device in non-real time on a PC. Due to the software-based nature of Virtual HIL, there is no external IO support.

Note: VHIL+ is a unique Virtual HIL configuration that does not correspond to a physical HIL device. For more information, please refer to the Device Configuration Table documentation.

In case Virtual HIL is available for the compiled model (Figure 3), that option will also be shown.

Figure 3. Connection problem window with Virtual HIL option

After the Model is loaded, you can load a Panel file that describes the user-specific interface with the real-time model. As is the case for Model files, HIL SCADA will show the recently opened Panel files and all Panel files found in the Model directory (Figure 3).

Note: In early versions of the software, Panel files were orignially called Custom UI settings files (.cus). All Custom UI files are still supported and can be opened in HIL SCADA.

Figure 4. HIL SCADA Window after Model is loaded

The HIL SCADA user interface is dynamically generated based on the properties of the loaded model. Figure 5 shows the application window with all its elements, numbered for identification.

The window elements are:

All HIL SCADA docks can undock (i.e. pop-out) and be returned to their initial position. To undock a dock, simply double-click the upper part of the dock frame (or click the appropriate undock button, see Figure 7). To restore an undocked dock to its initial position, simply double-click the frame of the dock (Figure 6).

To put an undocked dock in another position, click the undocked window frame and drag it to the edges of the Panel tabs.

You can also close docks by pressing the close button (Figure 7). Closed docks can be restored by re-enabling them in the View menu (Figure 8)

Note: After you close HIL SCADA, the position and state (opened, closed) of all docks will be automatically saved and restored the next time you open HIL SCADA.

Figure 6. Returning an undocked dock to its initial position