NI VeriStand Bench

The ChargeLink package (ChargeLink-0.5.0-rc2-bench-kit-win64.zip) sets up a two-PC bench for ISO 15118-20 DC charging with external identification (EIM). PC1 runs the charger (SECC) coupled to a simulated DC power stage, an FMI 2.0 plant model executed by NI VeriStand 2024 Q4. PC2 runs the ChargeLink vehicle (EVCC). The two PCs talk over a dedicated Ethernet link with SDP, mutual TLS 1.3 and the ISO 15118-20 DC EIM message sequence from SupportedAppProtocol to SessionStop.

This page explains what the package contains and how a session runs. The installation is described step by step in Set Up the VeriStand Bench, and the channels and their mapping in VeriStand Signal Mapping. The package's own docs\INSTALL-PC1.md, docs\INSTALL-PC2.md and docs\OPERATION.md describe the same procedure.

Prerequisites

You provide the following; the package contains none of it.

The system definition places the VeriStand primary control loop on logical processor 10, the model on 11 and the secondary (data) loop on 12. On a PC with fewer logical processors, or where those processors are busy, the placement must be reviewed and the system definition re-saved before use. The package contains no tool for this, and a re-saved file no longer matches the package's manifest\SHA256SUMS; record the change.

What is in the package

Every VeriStand-related file of the package, as it is after extraction to C:\ChargeLink\0.5.0-rc2:

NI VeriStand, its assemblies and licence, the .NET runtimes and the Visual C++ runtime are never part of the package.

How a session runs

1. Start-SeccSession.ps1 creates a run folder under runs_root (default C:\ChargeLink\0.5.0-rc2\runs), renders native.json and campaign-configuration.json into it from pc1\templates and pc1\bench-configuration.json, sets CHARGELINK_ISO20_RUNTIME_PROFILE to the package's runtime profile, and has the owner host validate the configuration.
2. It starts the owner host: dotnet pc1\host\ChargeLink.Veristand.XilHost.dll --config <run>\campaign-configuration.json --output <run>\host-output ….
3. The owner host starts the broker, which connects to the local VeriStand gateway (veristand-server.exe) through your installed NI ClientAPI and deploys ChargeLink_Blank_Windows.nivssdf. The host checks the broker's SHA-256 and the channel contract, then applies the safe start-up state to the plant.
4. The host starts chargelink.exe integration serve on 127.0.0.1:50051 (loopback only) and the operator bridge, then the SECC listener on the link adapter: SDP on UDP 15118, TLS on TCP 50118.
5. Start-Evcc.ps1 on PC2 waits until the SECC accepts connections and runs one EVCC session at 80 kW requested power. During PreCharge, PowerDelivery and the DC charge loop, the SECC writes the vehicle targets and charger commands to the plant channels and answers from the plant's measured voltage and current.
6. When the session has ended and the plant is back in its safe state, the owner host releases VeriStand and exits.

The runtime profile

The SECC refuses a plant-coupled ISO 15118-20 session without an explicit runtime profile. Start-SeccSession.ps1 sets CHARGELINK_ISO20_RUNTIME_PROFILE to pc1\config\iso15118_20_dc_eim_runtime_profile.json (schema chargelink.iso15118_20.dc_eim.runtime_profile.v1) for every session and records its SHA-256 in the run's SESSION.json. The package's values:

The maximum power and voltage come from the session configuration (requested_power_kw 80, target_voltage_v 800). Keep the profile unchanged: a changed file no longer matches manifest\SHA256SUMS, and its new hash appears in every SESSION.json.

Running a session

Before every session:

• PC1: no other VeriStand project is deployed and no other program holds the VeriStand gateway. Close browsers, media players and other simulators.
• PC1: no chargelink.exe or ChargeLink.Veristand.XilHost from an earlier session is still running (Task Manager).
• The link is up on both PCs (Get-NetAdapter), and pc1\bench-configuration.json still matches the adapter.
• Open a new PowerShell window for each session: Start-SeccSession.ps1 refuses to run when other CHARGELINK_* variables are set.
• Leave at least 20 seconds between the end of one session and the start of the next.

Automated session

PC1, in C:\ChargeLink\0.5.0-rc2\pc1:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Start-SeccSession.ps1

It prints the run folder, validates the configuration and prints Starting the owner host together with the PC2 command line. The host waits up to 120 s for the EVCC.

PC2, in the pc2 folder, as soon as PC1 prints that line:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Start-Evcc.ps1 -PeerIpv6 <SECC link-local address> -InterfaceAlias '<PC2 adapter>'

The EV ends the session itself after its charge loop. PC2 exit code 0 means the EVCC completed its sequence; the PC1 host ends once the plant is back in its safe state.

Manual session and the emergency stop

-Mode Manual starts the owner host with owner safety supervision and without automation. You drive it from a second PC1 window with Send-OwnerCommand.ps1, one command at a time; each command returns when the owner reports it applied.

PC1, window 1:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Start-SeccSession.ps1 -Mode Manual

PC1, window 2 (window 1 prints the run folder):

cd C:\ChargeLink\0.5.0-rc2\pc1
$run = '<run folder>'
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command ApplySafeStartup
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command StartSession
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command StartExternalEvccLane

PC2: .\Start-Evcc.ps1 -PeerIpv6 <SECC address> -InterfaceAlias '<PC2 adapter>' -Case EmergencyTransition for an emergency stop during the charge loop, or the default -Case Nominal for a manual session without one.

PC1, window 2, once the plant is coupled (GetStatus shows EVSE.PresentCurrent_A above 5 A and EVSE.ContactorClosed 1) and within the 60 s charging schedule:

.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command AssertEmergencyStop
# repeat GetStatus until typed_safety_terminal is true and typed_safety_phase is safe_measured
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command GetStatus
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command ResetSafety
# repeat GetStatus until typed_safety_phase is recovered_idle
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command StopExternalEvccLane -TimeoutSeconds 150
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command StopSession
.\Send-OwnerCommand.ps1 -RunDirectory $run -Command ShutdownWorkflow

Without an emergency stop, leave out AssertEmergencyStop and ResetSafety. Always send ShutdownWorkflow at the end, also after a failed step: it leaves the plant in its safe state and releases VeriStand. Every request and reply is kept in <run>\owner-commands. The valid commands are GetStatus, ApplySafeStartup, StartSession, StartExternalEvccLane, AssertEmergencyStop, ResetSafety, StopExternalEvccLane, StopSession and ShutdownWorkflow; the default timeout is 60 s.

Reading the result

Everything a session writes is in its run folder (<runs_root>\<yyyyMMdd-HHmmss>-automation or -manual):

The host exits with 0 for passed, 71 for a completed run that did not pass, 40 for an error (see the failure file) and 2 for invalid arguments. The exit code is not the verdict. An emergency stop, for example, is a correct outcome shown by the evidence (the safe state reached, the ISO 15118-20 Terminate sent), not by exit code 0. Judge a session from the result and evidence files and the SECC's frame trace.

Troubleshooting

Processor placement: the shipped system definition uses logical processors 10, 11 and 12. If your PC cannot provide them, the placement must be reviewed and the system definition re-saved; the package contains no tool for this.

Limits

• Simulated power stage. Current and voltage are the plant model's, not measured; CableCheck is simulated; no energy flows. There is no physical charging interface: no PLC/SLAC, control pilot, CAN or power stage.
• Your safety controller keeps physical authority. The owner host's safety supervision acts on the simulated plant only. On any bench with real hardware, your own safety controller and emergency stop keep physical authority; ChargeLink does not replace them.
• NI VeriStand 2024 Q4 only. Other VeriStand versions are not supported. Record any difference in the NI file hashes before relying on a result.
• One charging schedule of 60 s per session with the package's runtime profile and EV cases; schedule renegotiation is answered when an EV requests it.
• The EVCC is a test peer that runs only the EV cases in pc2\cases; it is not a vehicle implementation.
• No conformance or certification claim. A passed session is engineering evidence of an ISO 15118-20 DC EIM exchange against a simulated plant, not certification and not proof of interoperability with other equipment. See Capability Boundaries and the package's docs\KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md.