1MW load bank

Hi.

I need a approx 1100A 1100kV 60Hz single phase load bank for testing.
Rental seems to be a big problem.(voltage and single phase)
Have toyed with electrodic bath and other solutions without any breaktrough. Ideas anybody?

 

[peterb]

What you describe is a load bank rated for 1210 MW, single phase, which I think would be a problem for anyone to supply. Do you perhaps mean 1100 V, rather than 1100 kV? If yes and the voltage remains a problem, think in terms of a transformer to match the generator voltage to available load bank voltages.
Otherwise, I have been told that a brine tank (large) with adjustable electrodes (think raising and lowering a frame by crane) will do the job. I haven't actually used this, perhaps someone else can come in here.

 

[electricpete]

#1 - the bath has been discussed on the forums before. I remember nbucka had some suggestions about the type of solution to use. The idea is to get as much area between parallel plates as possible and with as little distance as possible... without creating flashover or liquid boiling.

#2 - If you don't care about the power factor of this load bank, have you looked into the availability of a capacitor?

 

[busbar]

You don't mention time or duty requirements, but the only must-be-3-phase part of most resistive load banks is a cooling-fan motor. Is using two-thirds of nominally 600{550}-volt delta [plain-vanilla 3ø load bank] assembly reconfigured wye-connected/series at all feasible?

Fluid-based resistors probably don't have very stable resistance.

 

[Bung]

When I was a student (more than a few years ago)doing vacation work in a railway deisel-elecric shop, I remember the diesel gen sets being soak tested for 24 hour periods using a big steel tank with some not-too-clean water (but no added salt) and a whole lot of steel plates about 10cm apart. The tank was maybe 1.8x1.8x1.8m in size. A crane was used to raise and lower the plates with a crude control system to keep the load roughly constant. Around 600V dc, 2MW so lots of amps, (but I don't recall much of electrolytic gassing so maybe the gens were actually ac), pretty crude. And more than one conrod stuck through the block.

Bung

 

[electricuwe]

I have tested recifiers for electrophoresis application (several 100's of amps at several 100's of volts) in the same way as described by bung. Additionally to the crane we used salt to adjust the resistance to the value we needed.

 

[nbucska]

Do NOT use salt -- Hydrochloric acid is a nasty stuff.

Use NaOH with iron or H2SO4 with graphite electrodes.
<nbucska@pcperipherals.com>