NSF-CPES funding has been combined with cost-shared capital equipment expenditures at UW-Madison to build three state-of-the-art dynamometer test stands. These dynamometers are critical to the success of ongoing research at UW-Madison to develop high-performance ac machines for a variety of demanding industrial, traction, and aerospace applications.

At the heart of each of these dynamometers is a special-purpose 30 kW induction machine capable of operating up to 6000 rpm for testing high-speed electric motors and generators. Each of the dynamometer induction machines is excited by a 4-quadrant adjustable-speed drive that has been generously donated by either Rockwell Automation or Danfoss, long-time industrial supporters of the UW-Madison research program. The accompanying figure shows one of these dynamometers being used to test a high-torque axial-airgap PM alternator machine that is part of a wind turbine drive development project.

Critical components in the dynamometer instrumentation include precision in-line torquemeters that are used to measure the mechanical torque and power developed by the test machines. Modern multi-channel oscilloscopes have also been purchased to measure and record the terminal currents, voltages, and electrical power delivered to the test machines. The combination of this instrumentation makes it possible to accurately measure the efficiency of the test machines over a wide range of operating conditions.

In addition, a high-power programmable ac power supply and rapid prototyping controls development equipment have been purchased for the machine test stands. The availability of this equipment to accompany the high-performance dynamometer machine drives and high-grade instrumentation has significantly improved the productivity of new machine development projects at UW-Madison.