5/1/2017 LoadBankTestingOpenElectrical

LoadBankTesting
FromOpenElectrical

Thepurposeofaloadbanktestistosimulaterealworldscenariosthatcanbeusedtoconfirmproperfunctionality.
Loadbanksareprovidedtosimulateelectricalload,asitisimportanttotestvariouselectricalapparatusinits
installedlocation.Whiletheequipmentundertest(EUT)mayhavebeentestedatthefactory,theinstallation
variables(Eg.altitude,ambienttemperature,airintake,fuel,exhaust,coolingsystemsandcontractor/sub
contractorworkmanshipquality)canbesignificantlyaffectedbytheinstallation.Theproperuseofaloadbankcan
beusedtoeffectivelytesttheoperatingcapabilityofthecompletesystem,asdeliveredfromthemanufacturer.

Aloadbankisadevicewhichdevelopsanelectricalload,appliestheloadtoanelectricalpowersourceand
convertsordissipatestheresultantpoweroutputofthesource.

Thepurposeofaloadbankistoaccuratelymimictheoperationalorrealloadthatapowersourcewillseein
actualapplication.However,unliketherealload,whichislikelytobedispersed,unpredictableandrandomin
value,aloadbankprovidesacontained,organizedandfullycontrollableload.

Consequently,aloadbankcanbefurtherdefinedasaselfcontained,unitized,systematicdevicethatincludesload
elementswithcontrolandaccessorydevicesrequiredforoperation.

Whereastherealloadisservedbythepowersourceandusestheenergyoutputofthesourceforsome
productivepurpose,theloadbankservesthepowersource,usingitsenergyoutputtotest,supportorprotectthe
powersource.

Contents
1 Applications
2 Loadbanktypes
2.1 Resistiveloadbank
2.2 Reactiveloadbanks
2.2.1 Inductiveloadbanks
2.2.2 Capacitiveloadbanks
2.3 Resistive/Reactiveloadbanks
3 Alternativeloadbanks
3.1 Electronicloadbanks
3.2 WaterCooledloadbanks
3.3 MediumVoltageloadbanks
3.4 ServerSimulatingloadbanks
3.5 Nonlinearloadbanks
3.6 400Hzloadbanks
3.7 Regenerativeloadbanks
3.8 Resonantloadbanks
4 LoadBankManufacturers

Applications

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Loadbanksareusedinavarietyofapplications,including:

Factorytestingofturbinesandenginedieselgeneratorsets
Reductionofwetstackingproblems
Periodicexercisingofstandbyenginegeneratorsets
BatteryandUPSsystemtesting
Groundpowertesting
Loadoptimizationinprimepowerapplications
Removalofcarbonbuilduponpistonrings
Loadrejectiontest

Loadbanktypes
Thethreemostcommontypesofloadbanksareresistive,inductive,andcapacitive.Bothinductiveandcapacitive
loadscreatewhatisknownasreactanceinanACcircuit.Reactanceisacircuitelement'soppositiontoan
alternatingcurrent,causedbythebuildupofelectricormagneticfieldsintheelementduetothecurrentandisthe
"imaginary"componentofimpedance,ortheresistancetoACsignalsatacertainfrequency.Capacitivereactance
isequalto1/(2fC),andinductivereactanceisequalto2fL.Theunitofreactanceistheohm.Inductive
reactanceresiststhechangetocurrent,causingthecircuitcurrenttolagvoltage.Capacitivereactanceresiststhe
changetovoltage,causingthecircuitcurrenttoleadvoltage.

Resistiveloadbank

Aresistiveloadbank,themostcommontype,providesequivalentloadingforbothgeneratorsandprimemovers.
Thatis,foreachkilowatt(orhorsepower)ofloadappliedtothegeneratorbytheloadbank,anequalamountof
loadisappliedtotheprimemoverbythegenerator.Aresistiveloadbank,therefore,removesenergyfromthe
completesystem:loadbankfromgeneratorgeneratorfromprimemoverprimemoverfromfuel.Additional
energyisremovedasaconsequenceofresistiveloadbankoperation:wasteheatfromcoolant,exhaustand
generatorlossesandenergyconsumedbyaccessorydevices.Aresistiveloadbankimpactsuponallaspectsofa
generatingsystem.

Theloadofaresistiveloadbankiscreatedbytheconversionofelectricalenergytoheatviahighpowerresistors
suchasgridresistors.Thisheatmustbedissipatedfromtheloadbank,eitherbyairorbywater,byforcedmeans
orconvection.

Inatestingsystem,aresistiveloadsimulatesrealliferesistiveloads,suchasincandescentlightingandheating
loadsaswellastheresistiveorunitypowerfactorcomponentofmagnetic(motors,transformers)loads.

Themostcommontypeuseswireresistance,usuallywithfancooling,andthistypeisoftenportableandmoved
fromgeneratortogeneratorfortestpurposes.Sometimesaloadofthistypeisbuiltintoabuilding,butthisis
unusual.

Rarelyasaltwaterrheostatisused.Itcanbereadilyimprovised,whichmakesitusefulinremotelocations.

Reactiveloadbanks

Inductiveloadbanks

Aninductiveloadincludesinductive(laggingpowerfactor)loads.

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Aninductiveloadconsistsofanironcorereactiveelementwhich,whenusedinconjunctionwitharesistiveload
bank,createsalaggingpowerfactorload.Typically,theinductiveloadwillberatedatanumericvalue75%thatof
thecorrespondingresistiveloadsuchthatwhenappliedtogetheraresultant0.8powerfactorloadisprovided.That
istosay,foreach100kWofresistiveload,75kVArofinductiveloadisprovided.Otherratiosarepossibleto
obtainotherpowerfactorratings.Aninductiveloadisusedtosimulateareallifemixedcommercialloads
consistingoflighting,heating,motors,transformers,etc.Witharesistiveinductiveloadbank,fullpowersystem
testingispossible,becausetheprovidedimpedancesuppliescurrentsoutofphasewithvoltageandallowsfor
performanceevaluationofgenerators,voltageregulators,loadtapchangers,conductors,switchgearandother
equipment.

Capacitiveloadbanks

Ancapacitiveloadincludescapacitive(leadingpowerfactor)loads.

Acapacitiveloadbankorcapacitorbankissimilartoaninductiveloadbankinratingandpurpose,exceptleading
powerfactorloadsarecreated,soreactivepowerissuppliedfromtheseloadstothesystem,henceimprovesthe
powerfactor.Theseloadssimulatecertainelectronicornonlinearloadstypicaloftelecommunications,computer
orUPSindustries.

Resistive/Reactiveloadbanks

Theseareacombinationofprimarilyresistiveandinductiveloadelementssuitableforperformingpowerfactor
testing.Resistive/reactivecombinationloadbanksareusedtotesttheenginegeneratorsetatitsratedpowerfactor
andinthemajorityofcasesthiswillbe0.8powerfactor.

Thereactivecomponentoftheloadwillhaveacurrentthatlagsthevoltage.Theresultingpowerisdescribedin
twoterms,theKW,orrealpowerandtheKVAorapparentpower.

Sincethecurrentlagsthevoltageinthereactiveloadthetotalpowerisnotthedirectsumofthetwobuttheir
vectorsum.Thatvectoristhephaseangledifferencebetweenthevoltageandthecurrent.Thecombinationof
resistiveandreactivecurrentintheloadwillallowforthefullnameplateKVAratingofthegeneratorwindingsto
betested.EventhoughthegeneratorsetisproducingmoreKVAitisactuallynotproducingmoreKW.Thereal
powerorhorsepowerrequiredfromtheengineisessentiallythesame.

Alternativeloadbanks
Electronicloadbanks

Anelectronicloadbanktendstobeafullyprogrammable,airorwatercooleddesignusedtosimulateasolidstate
loadandtoprovideconstantpowerandcurrentloadingoncircuitsforprecisiontesting.

Theseunitstendtobesomewhatrare,butaregreatfortestinglabstoperformconstantpower,voltageandcurrent
loadtests.

WaterCooledloadbanks

Oftentimes,situationsrequirecustomerstotestpowersupplies,namelygeneratorsandUPSsystems,inlocations
thatarenotconducivetonormalforcedaircooledloadbanks,eitherduetoenvironmentorphysicalconstraints.
Forexample,aUPSsystemthatisunderground,locatedinaparkinggarageorlocatedontopofarooftop.

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Inthesesituations,verylongrunsofcablesometimesmorethen300'+maybeused,butdueincreasedresistance
andsubsequentvoltagedrop,mayposeandaddtotheexistingchallenge.

Inadditiontotheabovescenario,watercooledloadbankscanbeusedtoprovideheatedwatertosimulatewater
basedserverandorchillers

Sothisleavesuswithanopenloop,watercycleloadcell,wherebychilledwaterissuppliedtoadevicewith
heatingelements.Aneasywaytoenvisionthisistothinkofitasanexpensivehotwaterheater.

MediumVoltageloadbanks

Thenotionofusingmediumvoltageloadbankforportabletestingpurpose,cameaboutfromthinkingoutside
thebox.Theextralogisticscostsfortransporting,craningintopositionandconnectingthelowvoltagecable,
becamerathertedious.

Amediumvoltageloadbankisjustlikeanyotherloadbankinthatitcontainsresistors,reactorsorcapacitors.
However,thevoltageratingsaregreaterthan600VACandbelow69,000VAC.

Mediumvoltageloadbanksareoftenusedforcommissioningpowerplants,maritimeelectricalsystems,standby
generatorsystemsandsubstations,essentiallythesameaslowvoltageloadbanks,theonlydifferencebeingthe
voltage.

Thealternatemethodoftestingwithoutmediumvoltageloadbanksistouselowvoltageloadbankswithstep
downtransformersusedtoservethelowvoltageloadbanks.

Typicallyitisalwaysadvantageoustotestwithmediumvoltageloadbanksversusjustusinglowvoltageload
banks,astheaddedlogisticsandprocurementcostsforlowvoltageloadbanksarefarmoreexpensive.

ServerSimulatingloadbanks

Thesearetypicallyrackmountableandusedtosimulatetruehotaisle/coldaislecontainmentsystems,heat
andairflow.Thesesimulatephysicalserversasinstalledatadatacenterbywayofheatdischarge,electrical
resistanceandairflow.Theresultantheatoutputoftheloadbanksareofabenefitinthattheyareusedtoload
computerroomairconditioners,whilstcreatinganelectricalloadtotheprimaryandstandbysystemsinthedata
center.

Nonlinearloadbanks

Aloadisconsiderednonlinearifitsimpedancechangeswiththeappliedvoltage.Thechangingimpedance
meansthatthecurrentdrawnbythenonlinearloadwillnotbesinusoidalevenwhenitisconnectedtoa
sinusoidalvoltage.Thesenonsinusoidalcurrentscontainharmoniccurrentsthatinteractwiththeimpedanceof
thepowerdistributionsystemtocreatevoltagedistortionthatcanaffectboththedistributionsystemequipment
andtheloadsconnectedtoit.

Inthepast,nonlinearloadswereprimarilyfoundinheavyindustrialapplicationssuchasarcfurnaces,large
variablefrequencydrives(VFD),heavyrectifiersforelectrolyticrefining,etc.Theharmonicstheygeneratedwere
typicallylocalizedandoftenaddressedbyknowledgeableexperts.

Timeshavechangedandharmonicproblemsarenowcommoninnotonlyindustrialapplicationsbutin
commercialbuildingsaswell.Thisisdueprimarilytonewpowerconversiontechnologies,suchastheSwitch
modePowerSupply(SMPS),whichcanbefoundinvirtuallyeverypowerelectronicandpowerconversion

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device.Namelywindfarmsarenotoriousforthisandrequirespecialconsiderationsduetotehextraharmonic
content.

400Hzloadbanks

Thesearenormallyusedonaircraftandshipbasedsystemsthatrequirecommissioningortestingbeforebeing
placedinservice.400Hzsystemsareusedwhereweightisimportantbecausethemagneticcorescanbe
smaller/lighter.Thisappliestotransformersaswellsincealowerinductance(smallercore/numberofturns)canbe
usedthanrequiredbylowerfrequencies.

Itisworthytonotethatresistorsratedfor60Hzcanoperateatthehighervalueof400Hzwithoutaproblem,but
inductorsandcapacitorscannot.

Regenerativeloadbanks

Reversepower/regenerativepowerprotectionofgeneratorbysensingpowerdirection,magnitudeandautomatic
additiontoactasapowersink.

Theseareseenprimarilyusedtocaptureanddissipateregenerativepowerfromlargemotorsandarefoundinthe
followingsettings:

Cranesandrigs
Mining
Cablelayingvessels
Elevators

Resonantloadbanks

Resonantloadsarebecomingincreasinglyprevalentduetosolarinverterantiislandingtestingand
commissioningperIEEEonphotovoltaicsystems.Thesearecomprisedofanexactbalanceofresistive,capacitive
andinductiveloadsina1:1:1,or1:2.5:2.5ratiossoastoprovideaspecificqualityfactor.

Manysolarinvertersaredesignedtobeconnectedtoautilitygrid,andwillnotoperatewhentheydonotdetectthe
presenceofthegrid.Theycontainspecialcircuitrytopreciselymatchthevoltageandfrequencyofthegrid.

Traditionalutilityelectricpowersystemsweredesignedtosupportaonewaypowerflowfromthepointof
generationthroughatransmissionsystemtodistributionlevelloads.Thesesystemswerenotoriginallyintendedto
accommodatethebackfeedofpowerfromdistributedgenerationsystemsatthedistributionlevel.

Islandingreferstotheconditioninwhichadistributedgeneratorcontinuestopoweralocationeventhough
electricalgridpowerwhentheelectricutilityisnolongerpresent.Islandingcanbedangeroustoutilityworkers,
whomaynotrealizethatacircuitisstillpowered,anditmaypreventautomaticreconnectionofdevices.For
thatreason,distributedgeneratorsmustdetectislandingandimmediatelystopproducingpowerthisisreferredto
asantiislanding.

LoadBankManufacturers
Hereisabrieflistingofcommonlyknownloadbankmanufacturers:

Avtron
Loadtec
Cannon
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Hawthorne
CrestchicUK
Northbridge
Froment
Simplex

Note:Thislistingisbynowaycompleteorabsolute.

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