Electricaly braked dyno

[Harmon Sommer]

>~ 	I initially began thinking about using a disc brake for a load, and
>~ measuring the torque-losses on the pad to get an approximate torque measurement
>~ Even had a method to calibrate w/ a torque wrench.  The numbers would not be
>~ exact but at least I would be able to see relative improvements as I made
>
I
i>had an idea a while back, but never followed up on it.  Why not use a
>calibrated alternator for a load device?  For instance, when you turn
>on the headlights, the engine RPMs drop down a small amount.  This
>

Once upon a time I worked on a nuclear reactor program where the reactor
heated Nitrogen gas. The heated gas was expanded across a turbine to
extract mechanical power. The dyno was a large DC generator which drove a
resistance bank. Power into the bank was W=ExI. There were, of course,
friction, windage, and electrical parasitic losses. Loading on the turbine
was controlled by varying the generator's field current.

It was not an efficient system. Megawatts nuclear produced killowatts
electrical

Harmon