Testrun adaption and control for a torsional vibration testrig actuator

Simulating the rotational vibrations generated in internal combustion engines with electrical drives offers new possibilities in testing drive train components. The wide frequency range and large amplitudes in angular acceleration, however, are non-typical performance specifications for electric drives and require specific rotor designs. Still, the high performance criteria lead to a highly thermal stressed machine. Using static limitations for maximum torque, temperature or test run duration would be far too conservative wasting performance. A novel method to prove feasibility a priori and automatically apply the minimum required modifications to desired shapes of the angular velocity by means of mathematical optimisation is presented. Emergency stops due to thermal overload are thus minimised and the test rig actuator is protected from overheating.