Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines Paper ID 1214

Physical Laboratory Model of Typical Load Torque

Characteristics for Teaching Electric Drives
Goran Rovišan, Tanja Vešić, Damir Žarko
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Department of Electric Machines, Drives and Automation
Unska 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel: (+385 1)-6129-613, fax: (+385 1)-6129-705
e-mail: : goran.rovisan@fer.hr, tanja.vesic@fer.hr, damir.zarko@fer.hr

Abstract-The realization of different load torque Dasylab 7.0 software is used. The scheme of the laboratory
characteristics in the laboratory for the purpose of teaching setup is shown in Fig. 1, while Fig. 2 shows the actual
electric drives is presented. The torque characteristics with linear
and quadratic dependence on speed are achieved by mechanically laboratory setup.
coupling the induction motor with a DC generator connected to a
resistor. By controlling the excitation current of the DC generator
depending on the measured speed the desired torque
characteristics can be achieved. This laboratory setup replaces the
actual loads like centrifugal pumps, fans or brakes based on
viscous friction.

I. INTRODUCTION
The realization of various load torque characteristics in a
laboratory for teaching electric drives is often a problem.
Usually an abundance of electric machines of various types can
be found in the laboratory, but common loads like fans or
centrifugal pumps with torque characteristics dependent on
speed are difficult to install and utilize. However, for the
purpose of teaching students the basic principles of electric
drives the torque characteristics can be simulated using a DC
generator connected to a resistor and coupled to an induction Fig. 1 Scheme of the laboratory setup
motor powered from a frequency converter. Since torque
produced by the DC generator is dependent on the armature
and field current, and in turn the armature current is dependent
on speed and the field current, it is possible simply by
controlling the field current supplied from the regulated current
source to achieve the desired torque characteristic dependent
on speed. The drawback of this approach is limited dynamics
since field current cannot be controlled rapidly, but this can be
overcome by setting the sufficiently long acceleration or
deceleration time of the drive. (a) Elevator drive

II. REALIZATION OF LOAD TORQUE CHARACTERISTICS

An old elevator drive consisting of a 26 kW induction motor,
10 kW DC machine and 2.8 kW DC exciter, all coupled on the
same shaft, has been used. The induction motor is powered
from an ABB ACS 600 AC drive and the voltage from the DC
exciter is used as a signal for speed measurement. The field
current of the DC machine is supplied from controlled current (b) Data acqusition
source SIMOREG E300/22. For data acquisition and
Fig. 2 The actual laboratory setup
processing Iotech Personal Daq/3000 AD converter with

978-1-4244-1736-0/08/$25.00 ©2008 IEEE 1

Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
The field current of the DC generator required to produce the
desired torque Tg at a given speed follows from the expressions
which describe its static behaviour:
ce ( I f , I a ) I f ω = I a ( Ra + Rd )
Tg = ct ( I f , I a ) I f I a
where ce is the back-emf constant, ct is the torque constant, Ia is
the armature current, If is the field current, Ra is the armature
winding resistance and Rd is the externally connected
resistance. The constants ce and ct are determined
experimentally and their dependence on the currents If and Ia is
taken into account so that the desired torque characteristic can
The following signals are measured:
• AC and DC motor phase voltage and current
• DC motor field current
(1) • AC motor torque and speed.
The examples of the recorded linear and quadratic load
(2) torque characteristics displayed as a function of speed are
shown in Fig. 3. The AC drive is set to operate in scalar mode
using V/f regulation, which is easy to understand for students.
This can be illustrated by displaying measured voltage at motor
terminals as a function of measured speed (Fig. 4).
160

be achieved more accurately. 140

Combining (1) and (2) results with generator torque given by

ct ( I f , I a ) ce ( I f , I a ) ω
120

Tg = I 2f (3)
Ra + Rd

Load torque TL(Nm)

100

The desired load torque TL can be given as a function of 80

speed ω. Therefore the required field current is calculated
according to 60

If =
( Ra + Rd ) TL (ω )
ω ct ( I f , I a ) ce ( I f , I a ) (4) 40

20
In our case the load torque is either TL = kt1 ω or TL = kt2 ω2.
The constants kt1 and kt2 are chosen so that the induction motor 0
0 5 10 15
is loaded with rated torque at rated speed. The acceleration Time(s)

(a) linear
time is set in the parameters of the AC drive to be slow enough
(5-10 seconds) so that the field current can reach steady state 160
fast enough to follow the change of motor speed.
140
III. EXERCISE EXAMPLE
The main tasks students need to carry out during exercise are 120

the following:
Load torque TL(Nm)

100
• read the data from the motor name plate,
• carry out the wiring of the AC drive, the induction motor 80

and the DC generator,

• check out all connections prior to turning on the main
60

switch, 40

• set the parameters of the frequency converter (motor data,

control mode, current and frequency limits, acceleration 20

and deceleration times, desired frequency), 0

• test the settings of the power converter by starting the 0 5
Time(s)
10 15

motor without load torque, (b) quadratic

• select the type of load (linear or quadratic) and during Fig. 3. Load torque characteristic as a function of speed during start-up of the
start-up record the speed, load torque estimate from the induction motor
analog output of the AC drive, and phase voltage and
current at the terminals of the AC drive and the terminals
of the induction motor,
• process the recorded data using MATLAB and obtain the
RMS values of voltage and current, power input from the
grid to the AC drive and from the drive to the motor,
power factor at the terminals of the drive and the motor,
and estimated power output from the motor,
• •write the report in which all the results are summarized
and the appropriate comments and conclusions are made.

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Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
350
500
Vmotor (V)

400
300

300

250
200
Vrms - motor (V)

100

Motor voltage
200

150 -100

-200
100
-300

50 -400

-500

0
0 500 1000 1500 15 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08
Speed (rpm) Time (s)

Fig. 4 Voltage change during start-up of AC motor drive, scalar mode (a) voltage- quadratic load characteristic
40
Imotor (A)
The RMS values of current and voltage during start-up are
shown in Fig. 5 together with motor power factor. The signals 30

of AC motor voltage and current in steady state for quadratic

load characteristic are shown in Fig. 6. 20

400 20

Vrms-motor (V) Motor current 10

Irms-motor (A)

300 15 0

-10
RMS values

200 10
-20

-30
15 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08
100 5
Time (s)
(b) current – quadratic load characteristic
Fig. 6 Motor voltage and current signals in steady state - quadratic load
characteristic
0 0
0 5 10 15
Time (s)
(a) voltage and current
IV. CALCULATIONS BASED ON MEASURED VALUES
0.8 Two tests are carried out: with linear and with quadratic load
0.7
cos phi - motor torque characteristic.
To check if desired load torque characteristics are correctly
0.6
realized, simple calculation can be done, knowing equation for
0.5
torque equilibrium in dynamic behaviour of rotating machines

0.4
dω
Cos phi

TM = TL + J
dt
(5)
0.3

0.2
where J is the polar moment of inertia, known from
previously conducted tests or from motor data.
0.1
The second addend on the right-hand side of (5) is the
0
acceleration torque which represents the difference between
motor torque developed on the shaft and the load torque
-0.1
0 5 10 15 developed by the DC generator.
Time (s)
The load torque is calculated form (2) using measured values
(b) power factor
of Ia, If and ct. The estimate of the motor torque is obtained
Fig. 5 RMS values of motor voltage and current, motor power factor during
start-up - quadratic load characteristic using the analog output of the frequency converter. Using the

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Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
value of load and motor torque it is possible to calculate the
acceleration torque and polar moment of inertia.
All torque characteristics are approximated by polynomials
of degree 7 or higher resulting with smooth curves (Fig. 7)
which are needed for further differentiation. In the signal of
motor torque there is an unexpected “hump” for speed below
200 rpm which is not present in load torque. This can be
explained by frequency converter error when estimating motor
torque for speed near zero which could be attributed to static
friction. It can be noticed in Fig. 7 and in Fig. 8 that at steady
state the motor and load torque are the same, which is expected
since acceleration torque drops down to zero once the steady
state speed is reached.
drive’s angular speed. Fig. 9 shows a time graph of rotational
speed and angular acceleration. Only values for speed higher
then 200 rpm are considered. The result of calculation is shown
in Fig. 10. During start-up there are variations of polar moment
of inertia J between 0.75 and 1.75 kgm2 for linear, and between
0.51 and 1.94 kgm2 for quadratic load torque characteristic.
Calculating the average of J from these two tests gives 1.19
kgm2 and 1.13 kgm2 respectively.
Calculating the mean value of J from both experiments gives
the average value of 1.16 kgm2, which is 27 % higher then 0.91
kgm2 determinate from the slowdown test at no-load.
180

Motor
The acceleration torque is calculated according to (5) as a 160 Load
Accelerating
difference between the motor torque and the load torque. Thus
the same error is present for speed near zero as in the motor 140

torque. This error will be neglected in further procedure and 120

the calculus is made for all speeds higher then 200 rpm until

Torque (Nm)
reaching the steady state near 1455 rpm.
100

To determine the polar moment of inertia experimentally, 80

the acceleration torque is to be divided by a derivative of the

60

40
160 Motor
Load
Accelerating 20
140 Motor - polynomial fit
Load - polynomial fit
Accelerating - polynomial fit 0
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
120
Speed (rpm)
(a) linear
100
Torque (Nm)

180

80 Motor
160 Load
Accelerating
60
140

40
120
Torque (Nm)

20
100

0
0 5 10 15 80
Time(s)
(a) linear 60

40
160
Motor
Load
Accelerating 20
140
Motor - polynomial fit
Load - polynomial fit
0
120 Accelerating - polynomial fit 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Speed (rpm)
100 (b) quadratic
Torque (Nm)

Fig. 8 Measured and calculated torques as function of speed

80

60

40

20

0
0 5 10 15
Time(s)
(b) quadratic
Fig. 7 Measured and calculated torques compared with polynomial
approximations

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Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines

2000 20 2.5
Speed (rpm) J (kg m2
dw/dt (rpm/s

1500 15 2
Speed (rpm) and dw/dt (rpm)

1000 10 1.5

J (kg m2)
500 5 1

0 0
0.5

-500 -5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) linear (a) linear load torque characteristic

1500 20 2.5
J (kg m 2)
Speed (rpm)
dw/dt (rpm/s

2
Speed (rpm) and dw/dt (rpm)

1000

1.5

J (kg m 2)
10

500

0.5

0 0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400
Time (s) Speed (rpm)

(b) quadratic (b) quadratic load torque characteristic

Fig. 9 Speed and angular speed derivation Fig. 10 Graph of polar moment of inertia during start-up

V. CONCLUSION Two tests with different load torque characteristics (quadratic

This paper shows how various load torque characteristics and linear) have been carried out showing similar behaviour of
can be generated by controlling the field current of a DC calculated polar moment of inertia. This indicates that a good
generator for the purpose of teaching students the fundamentals estimate of motor and load torque has been achieved. The only
of electric drives. This laboratory model is simple in its noticeable problem is at speed near zero where frequency
implementation and is suitable for educational purposes. Its converter fails to correctly estimate the motor torque.
main advantage over virtual laboratories based on simulations
is the opportunity for the students to work with real electric REFERENCES
machines, AC drives and equipment for measurement and data [1] Chen Yongjun, Huang Shenghua, Yang Xiongping, Li Junjie, “Models
acquisition. and Developing of Load Torque Simulator with Permanent Magnet
Synchronous Motor for Ship Electric Propulsion”, Proceedings of UPEC
It is confirmed that it is possible to simulate various load '06, Vol 2, pp. 724-728, 6-8 Sept. 2006
torque characteristics using basic static behaviour of a DC [2] Standard Application Program 5.x for ACS 600 Frequency Converters,
machine. The torque developed on its shaft is proportional to ABB Industry Oy, 1998.
the product of its armature current, field current and the back-
emf constant.
This principle cannot be used to realize load torque
characteristics where torque is present at speed near zero. At
zero speed there is no voltage induced in the DC machine to
drive the armature current and hence the load torque cannot be
produced.