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Behavior of Capstone and Honeywell Microturbine Generators During Load Changes

Publication Type

Report

Date Published

07/2001

Author

Yinger, Robert J

Abstract

This report describes test measurements of the behavior of two microturbine generators (MTGs) under transient conditions. The tests were conducted under three different operating conditions: grid-connect; stand-alone single MTG with load banks; and two MTGs running in parallel with load banks. Tests were conducted with both the Capstone 30-kW and Honeywell Parallon 75- kW MTGs. All tests were conducted at the Southern California Edison /University of California, Irvine (UCI) test facility. In the grid-connected mode, several test runs were conducted with different set-point changes both up and down and a start up and shutdown were recorded for each MTG. For the stand-alone mode, load changes were initiated by changing load-bank values (both watts and VARs). For the parallel mode, tests involved changes in the load-bank settings as well as changes in the power set point of the MTG running in grid-connect mode. Detailed graphs of the test results are presented. It should be noted that these tests were done using a specific hardware and software configuration. Use of different software and hardware could result in different performance characteristics for the same units.