Design of a PC-based intelligent instrument for electrical drives testing

This paper describes a personal computer-based intelligent instrument for electrical drives testing application. Functions provided by this instrument include collection and processing of data, load control, and fault diagnosis. These functions are supplied to help pursue our ultimate goal-to emancipate operator from tedious testing tasks. The measurement algorithm is designed by using FFT and FIR filter techniques, and the testing time is regulated through control algorithm. The installation of the instrument is done on APPLE IIe personal computer with data acquisition unit, control unit, and peripheral devices. Evaluation of the resulting instrument on a prototype laboratory electrical drive testing system shows that this novel approach has the potential use on practical applications