Industrial Power Test Solutions

NH Research (NHR) provides industrial power test equipment for individual components and systems including battery modules/packs, electric drive systems, fast chargers and power electronics. NHR’s industrial power test solutions include Battery Test Systems, Battery Emulators/Simulators, AC/DC loads and Grid Simulators.

Increased R&D and manufacturing is emerging in electric construction equipment, industrial electric utility vehicles, electric power tools, heavy duty electric machinery, and robotics. Engineers must address new testing challenges associated with higher voltage systems, industrial applications and unique test requirements. The transition of these new applications going full electric is driving the development of higher performing batteries, electric drive systems, power converters, inverters and faster chargers. Today’s test equipment needs to provide modular and scalable power, fast transients and integrated safety to address these changing test requirements.

Common test applications include:

  • Rigorous battery testing for battery characterization, drive cycle, life-cycle, & performance testing
  • Recreating battery test profiles from simulation, actual recorded data, & industry standards
  • R&D & validation of new higher voltage systems including powertrain, motor drives, inverters, DC/DC converters & other power electronics
  • Emulating & testing a variety of battery & charging technologies

Electric Construction Equipment Test Solutions

Electric construction equipment includes vehicles that are designed for construction and mining such as tractors, dump trucks, mining trucks, and excavators. Electrifying this equipment requires high performance batteries with extended battery life and fast charging times. Its unique application also requires robust and reliable electric drive systems with high payloads. Test applications range from evaluating charging, battery capacity and performance, to safety and infrastructure requirements.

NHR’s Battery Test Systems are ideal for testing complex battery test profiles in compliance with industry standards. NHR’s Battery Emulator/Simulator is a bidirectional DC source and load that will safely emulate a fast charger, or a high voltage battery that can accept fast charging. Our battery emulators are also ideal for testing the entire powertrain including the electric drive system and motor. The 9300/9200 can accept back EMF and its isolated input and output paths eliminate single points of failure and unstable conditions.

Electric Fork Lifts, Pallet Jacks, Lift Trucks Test Solutions

Electric forklifts, pallet jacks, and lift trucks have large industrial-scale, stationary batteries that require high performance battery chargers. In most cases, these types of chargers and batteries are expensive, quite large and difficult to move. NHR’s Battery Test Systems and Battery Emulators/Simulators are ideal for testing a combination of various batteries and chargers to optimize product performance and to ensure safety.

Our next generation battery test systems are ideal for cycling industrial-scale batteries to test their performance at full power, safely. Its flexible and easy integration with third party tools provides a comprehensive battery test solution. Testing the industrial battery charger or the system requires battery emulation to simulate the characteristics of these large stationary batteries effectively. Using battery emulation instead of real batteries also eliminates operator error and environmental variables such as battery temperature or aging, to achieve precise results. The bidirectional power flow of the battery emulators are ideal for accepting back EMF and safely testing the electric drive and motor.

Electric Power Tools & Machinery Test Solutions

Heavy duty, electric powered tools and machinery require high performance batteries and chargers due to the frequency and high power being used. Our next generation battery test systems are ideal for battery characterization and creating complex test profiles based on its application. Its modular and scalable power as well as its multi-channel configuration options also enables flexibility to reduce testing time.

Applications for charger testing may require simple loading of charges using low power DC loads or higher power testing using our battery emulators (bidirectional dc source and load) to simulate the system. Testing a charger often requires an AC power source and a DC load. Simulating facility power with NHR's Regenerative Grid Simulator allows the engineer to adjust the input frequency, voltage, and simulate power line disturbances.

NHR’s battery emulation/simulation capability is ideal for emulating the DC power source for testing the electric drive, charger and related power electronics to ensure overall product performance, safety and compliance.

Robotics Electric Drives & Motors Test Solutions

The rise of robotics in manufacturing has accelerated globally to automate repetitive tasks. These industrial robotic arms involve electric drives and motors to control movement. A robotic arm typically has 4-6 joints with electrical motors positioned at different angles to get precise control for specific tasks. Robotic arm manufacturers must conduct R&D testing and validation to evaluate a variety of electric drives and motors that are optimized for the application.

NHR’s 9300/9200 Battery Emulator is ideal for emulating the DC power source for testing the electric drives, motors, and related power electronics as individual components and systems. This regenerative bidirectional dc source and load can emulate the DC power flow in both directions. The 9300/9200 accepts back EMF which is important for testing the electric drives and motors, safely. The isolated input and output paths eliminate single points of failure and unstable conditions. This highly modular test solution has flexible configuration options for effective testing.

Resources

Battery Emulation - NH Research (NHR)

App Note: Benefits of Battery Emulation

Electric Powertrain - NH Research (NHR)

App Note: Electric Powertrain Test Solutions

Charger Testing - NH Research (NHR)

App Note: Charger Testing

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