Generator Test Bench Common Base Torque Reaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing back-to-back test benches for electricity generators face challenges in aligning generators, transmitting torque loads to the foundation, and requiring significant material and alignment efforts, leading to high manufacturing and operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A test bench design featuring a common base and hollow body with a shaft inside, allowing direct connection to generator rotors and minimizing torque transmission to the ground, along with elastic connectors to reduce load transmission and facilitate easy alignment, and a back-to-back testing system using power electronic converters and a transformer for improved dynamics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate supports with foundations are used for each generator, then the generators can be stably supported, but the manufacturing cost increases significantly due to material requirements and structural reinforcement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the two separate generator supports into a single common base structure. The first and second generators are mounted on opposite sides of this shared base, allowing the base to support both generators simultaneously. This eliminates the need for two separate foundations and significantly reduces material requirements while maintaining structural stability during back-to-back testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The common base structure serves multiple functions: it supports both generators, acts as a torque reaction element, and provides a stable mounting platform. By designing the base to handle both support and torque reaction functions, the patent eliminates the need for separate foundation structures, reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If traditional separate supports are used, then each generator is independently supported, but the alignment between generators becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the support structures into a single common base, the patent creates a pre-aligned reference frame. The first and second mounting structures are both attached to this common base, which inherently provides alignment between the generators. This eliminates the need for time-consuming field alignment procedures while maintaining independent support for each generator.
3Force
If the shaft transmits torque to the ground through separate foundations, then the torque loads are distributed to the foundation, but extensive reinforcement and material are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the torque reaction paths from both generators into the common base structure. During back-to-back testing, the torque from one generator is directly transmitted through the common base to the other generator, with the base acting as a torque arm. This eliminates the need for foundations to handle torque loads, reducing material usage significantly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the torque transmission function from the foundation structures and relocates it to the common base. By removing the torque transmission requirement from the foundations, the patent eliminates the need for extensive reinforcement and material that would otherwise be required to handle these loads.
4Manufacturing precision
If minor misalignments occur in traditional test benches, then vibration and loads increase affecting test results, but preventing misalignment requires perfect alignment of supports and shaft
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the support structures into a common base, the patent creates a rigid, pre-aligned reference frame that inherently maintains precise alignment between generators. The common base acts as a stable reference that prevents misalignment, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures while ensuring high manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The common base serves as both a support structure and an alignment reference. By integrating these functions into a single structure, the patent ensures that the support itself provides the alignment, making the system both precise and easy to operate without requiring separate alignment procedures.
Data Source
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AI summary
Generator test benches and back-to-back testing systems and methods are disclosed. A test bench may comprise a single fixed structure and a shaft. The single fixed structure may include a common base fixed to the ground and a hollow body with a central pillar connecting them. The shaft may be arranged inside the hollow body and may have a first end extending beyond a first opening and a second end extending beyond a second opening of the hollow body. The shaft may be connectable to rotors of two generators. The single fixed structure may be connectable to the stators of the generators.