The world's largest drive for NASA

Citation

(1998), "The world's largest drive for NASA", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770faf.003

The world's largest drive for NASA

The world's largest drive for NASA

Keywords Drives, NASA, Wind tunnel

What is believed to be the world's largest variable speed AC drive and motor system ever built has been supplied to NASA's Langley Research Center in USA by ABB (Plate 1). The 101 Megawatt (135,000HP) adjustable speed drive and motor system controls a fan at NASA's National Transonic Facility (NTF), Hampton, Virginia.

ABB's drive and motor are the critical power/mechanical components turning the giant fan that creates the controlled, Mach-1-plus wind conditions in NTF's wind tunnel.

Plate 1 ABB has supplied the world's largest variable speed AC drive to NASA's Langley Research Center in the USA

Such conditions are needed to simulate testing of aircraft at transonic speeds. The drive can run at over 100MW (the previous record is 65MW), powering the motor to turn the wind tunnel fan at speeds ranging up to 600rpm.

The fan power resulting from the new single-drive-and-motor configuration expands the testing capability of the well-known NTF wind tunnel, NASA officials explained. In addition to simulating the full-scale, in-flight performance characteristics of large transport aircraft flying at transonic (600-900 mph) speeds, the wind tunnel is unique in its ability to simulate other flight parameters, "such as 'Reynolds Numbers,' which manufacturers need to optimize design and shorten product development cycles", NASA noted.

NTF is said to be the only wind tunnel in the world able to simulate these numbers in ranges of 50-100 million, critical for efficient aircraft design. "Through this drive and motor combination, we now become more reliable, efficient, productive. We can also help our customers become more productive and efficient, in turn", NASA officials said.

According to Jeff Hill, facility manager at NASA's NTF: "This was an extremely successful team effort between NASA and ABB that met all our performance requirements and exceeded our objectives. In fact, the project was completed on time and came in below budget. We're delighted!"

"It is a true pleasure to be part of so many 'firsts' through this installation", said John Trostheim, executive vice-president, ABB Industrial and Building Systems Segment, Colombus, Ohio. "This is both a model for how technology can be combined to create an unprecedented solution that accomplishes a customer's objective: and a model for teamwork. This also shows how private sector vendors and government agencies like NASA can work hand-in-hand to put that solution into place on schedule."

"The technology came from ABB manufacturing centres around the world. We knew it was proven and would integrate extremely well. The challenge was to expand the technology and system components in applications: make them bigger." ABB teamed with the construction company Raytheon Engineers and Constructors (REC) to offer an "Integrated Systems Turnkey Project", notes Anders G. Troedson, director of Power Electronics, ABB New Berlin.

ABB provided all the electrical equipment and managed the project, while REC handled the design/build part of the $25 million contract.

Sharing a common roof, but separated by the walls surrounding the ABB LCI (load commutated inverter) drive, the ABB AC synchronous motor is anchored approximately 30ft from the drive. Nearly twice as large as any adjustable speed drive in the world, the LCI takes up a space measuring 30ft long × 30ft wide × 32ft high, while the motor requires a space measuring 18ft long × 20ft wide × 23ft high (excluding coolers and other accessories).

Both the LCI and motor were assembled on site. Shipped from ABB Industrie AG, Turgi, Switzerland, the LCI unit arrived as four pre-assembled subcomponent stacks. The 360-ton motor, shipped from ABB Power Generation, Birr, Switzerland, arrived as three pieces, with the coolers and accessories shipped and installed separately.

"Those were the largest two electrical components, but powering them also required the installation of a new transformer, related switchgear, and modification of the existing electrical substation", said Ram Bhatia, senior project manager, Large AC Drives, ABB Industrial Systems in New Berlin, WI. The transformer was shipped from ABB Kraft, Drammen, Norway.

The commissioning procedure and acceptance testing, designed to bring the drive system on line in a safe and orderly sequence have gone well, according to the on-site managers for both NASA and ABB.

More details are available from Ian Rennie, ABB Industrial Systems Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 161 445 5555; Fax: +44 (0) 161 445 6066.