Design of a mechanical load simulator having an excitation current controlled eddy current brake

Behaviour of an industrial load can be described with the total inertia of rotating parts and load torque. It is important to know both the load torque and power in order to determine the rated values of the electrical motor since the needed power is supplied by the motor during continuous operation. The mechanical behaviour of the electrical motor is so important, since they don't operate at constant torque or power in practice. Therefore electrical motors must have the capability to provide the desired driving torque or power for a load having variable demand. Additionally, the method for choosing the right motor depends on the calculated effective torque or power related to the operational characteristics including the change of load versus time. In this study, a current controlled eddy current brake for loading a motor with the desired load scenario as a load simulator is used for determining the operating capability under different load conditions which is similar to the industrial applications. A closed loop control system including a conventional PI controller is designed for an eddy current brake to obtain the needed torque for different load characteristics. The coefficients for the PI controller is optimized by genetic algorithm. The designed load simulator can be used to simulate any desired load scenario for any motor.