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diff --git a/results.tex b/results.tex index 9944c1e..4e36c06 100644 --- a/results.tex +++ b/results.tex @@ -7,4 +7,128 @@ \section{Configuration One} -\section{Configuration Two}
\ No newline at end of file +\subsection{Turboprop Engine Data} +Figure 11 shows the power +turbine shaft torque output and rotational speed throughout the test +run. The impact of the power generator can be seen in the mechanical +system data. The turboprop was taken to full throttle and left there +for the duration of the electrical system testing. The turboprop +maintains a specific shaft speed at each throttle setting and so should +not change throughout the run. The decrease in RPM around the 355-s +mark was caused by the load of the generator slowing it down. After +5-s, the engine control unit brought the turboprop back to the intended +speed. However, it can be seen that the engine was now producing +more torque at that same RPM, and thus more power. +The turboprop is rated for a peak shaft speed of 2158-RPM, which +was used in the design of the generator system. The peak value +measured during testing was 2136-RPM. So, the generator was +spinning at 2990-RPM and the design speed for the generator is +3000-RPM, so it was operating nominally. The peak power +produced by the turboprop was about 150-kW. The nominal max +continuous output of the engine is 160-kW, but the engine can +temporarily boost to 180-kW for takeoff. This means that +throughout testing, the maximum power rating of the engine was +never exceeded. The engine performed well, and no otherwise +unexpected phenomenon happened to the engine throughout testing. +\begin{figure}[h] + \centering + \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img/test1prop.png} + \caption{\label{test1prop}Turboprop Shaft Torque and Speed} +\end{figure} +\subsection{Electrical System Performance} +Figure 12 shows the +voltage of the central bus and the current flow from the generator and +battery. The ESC throttle positions are labeled in the figure. The +voltage data contain some noise caused by the electrical output of +the generator. The cause of the noise being something else, such as +the vibration of the instrumentation, is unlikely because it only +appears when the generator hits the designed speed and exceeds the +voltage of the battery. The Arduino and probes that measure the +main bus voltage are also not located on the engine, further +increasing the notion that the noise is caused by the generator +creating a noisy DC signal.\\ +Figure 13 shows the total electrical and mechanical power during +the same period as Fig. 12, allowing for direct comparison. The +trends for the voltage data are quite clear. The battery begins at +106.5-V and ends at 105.9-V. Under peak load at around 365-s, the +minimum operating voltage of 100-V is achieved. From left to right, +the changes in ESC throttle position can be seen. Starting from the +left the battery begins charging at 14.4-A. The two ESCs are then +commanded to start at the expected nearly 15-A current draw, but the +left ESC failed to engage properly.\\ +Surprisingly, the medium throttle position on the right ESC was +achieved by drawing ~75-A, but the amount of current from the +generator saw only a minor increase. Instead, the difference was +almost entirely picked up by the battery. This can also be seen in the +power data. There is a small bump in generator power at the ESC +medium point, but the power decreases slightly and is picked up by +the battery. The mechanical data show a drop in rotational speed at +about the same time the medium throttle point was engaged. +Whenever the load was increased, it slowed down the rotational +speed (and thus voltage) of the generator preventing it from picking +up the difference. The generator was slowed down from the near +constant ~2990-RPM to 2904-RPM, which would have reduced the +output voltage by 3-V. Because the output voltage of the generator is +so close to the battery voltage, this decrease in voltage significantly +impacted the current output. The battery responded to the increased +load almost instantly but based on the power/RPM data, it took ~5-s +for the turboprop ECU to adequately react to the increase in +mechanical load.\\ +Once the high ESC throttle position was reached, a significant +amount of current ~150-A total was discharged. The voltage then +dropped by several volts and the amount of current from the +generator increased significantly to its maximum of 39-A. At this +point, around 4-kW was being extracted from the turboprop using +the generator, while about 13-kW of power came from the battery.\\ +Afterward, the second medium throttle position was hit. The total +current was ~40-A compared to the previous 75-A. The reason for +the significant difference may have been an error made by the +operator, who may have missed the target ESC throttle positions. +The power data, however, provides evidence that the total power +output of the propeller was continuously decreasing despite the +operator holding the throttle steady for each position. The simple +explanation may be that the inertia of the propeller and electric +motor is quite large. The electric motor did not require as much +power because it was slowing down instead of speeding up. The final +observation is that the resting current output of the generator +recharging the battery is slightly higher than at the beginning of the +run. This is because the voltage difference between the generator +and battery increased since the battery discharged some of its power. +\begin{figure}[h] + \centering + \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img/test1electric.png} + \caption{\label{test1electric}Voltage and Current Data} +\end{figure} +\begin{figure}[h] + \centering + \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img/test1power.png} + \caption{\label{test1power}Mechanical versus Electrical Power} +\end{figure} +\subsection{Electronic Speed Controller Failure} +After the main test was completed, the left ESC that had failed to +start properly was investigated. The ESC and electric motor had +previously been successfully tested during an all-electric check-out +test run. The electric motor was again tested on battery power to +figure out what was wrong. During this attempt at starting the motor, +the ESC saw a significant in-rush current as shown in Fig. 14. This +caused spontaneous failure and the rupturing of the capacitors inside +the ESC creating a minor fire. The current draw during failure shown +in Fig. 14 is an underestimate. The sensor used to monitor the battery +current maxes out slightly over 500-A, so the instantaneous +maximum values may have been higher than 550-A.\\ +The electrical data during the failure were of particular interest. +During previous testing, an ESC had desoldered its connection point +with its main power wire, which had removed the ESC load from the +main bus. In this case, the ESC shorted, causing a substantial +unexpected load of 46-kW of electrical power on the central bus. +This caused significant strain on the battery, whose maximum rated +current was around 350-A. Had this event occurred during full +system testing, then it could have damaged the turboprop engine or +the battery.\\ +The acquisition rate of the current sensor data is slow compared to +the failure causing steep step changes. However, it appears that as +the failed system was failing, the minimum of the oscillating current +expenditure creeps up from around 20-A (at 423-s) to about 50-A +(428-s). This gave rise to clear recommendations for the handling of +electrical failure modes. +\section{Configuration Two} |