A test platform for measuring the energy efficiency of AC induction motors under various loading conditions and control schemes/

Abstract

A test platform was developed to measure and compare the energy efficiency of an AC induction motor under steady-state and cyclical loading conditions while operating in both a constant speed mode and while performing speed to speed transitions. The details of the construction are provided. The motor under test is fully characterized and modeled in order to establish theoretical bounds for maximum efficiency operation. In addition, several custom motor controllers were created and the specifics of their implementation are given. Results from tests on both commercial and custom controllers show the test platform to be a valuable tool for characterizing the energy efficiency of the AC induction motor while subjected to various loading conditions under the control of the different motor controllers.