A Regenerative Voltage Source Inverter for Dynamometer Applications

The paper initially discusses the general principles of controlled regeneration with a voltage source inverter/induction motor system. A detailed discussion of the control scheme employed follows. The inverter power circuitry is then discussed with an emphasis on the operation of the bus commutation scheme. Next the protection scheme used for the power devices under fault conditions such as inverter "shoot-thru" and line outage is explained. The authors will then present a discussion of a practical application which has been attained for this system; namely, that of an engine dynamometer. Characteristics of the adjustable frequency dynamometer system will be examined from an application engineering standpoint showing how specially designed dynamometers can be readily developed to meet specific engine performance curves.