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At a previous job we manufactured fairly large trailer-mounted generators. During design engineering testing, you would want to power a load with the generator
by mech975 2y ago
At a previous job we manufactured fairly large trailer-mounted generators. During design engineering testing, you would want to power a load with the generator to check performance. The test load we had was a giant resistor bank, in a pallet-sized enclosure about 4 feet tall, with fans for active cooling of the oodles of resistance heat being put off by it. I talked to one of the electrical engineers about how ludicrous this device was, and he said that we used to use something even weirder. A giant tank filled with salt water (can't remember for sure if they were using NaCl or a different electrolyte) with probes just dumping all that current right into the water. Wish I had seen it.
- XorNot 2y agoI'm not sure what's ludicrous about this setup though? For testing you want the simplest possible setup - which a giant resistor bank really is. Power is power when you run it through simple resistance - no AC shenanigans will hide effects.
- thfuran 2y agoThe electrolysis rig seems a bit ridiculous, since it generates a bunch of flammable gas you have to deal with. A big resistive load for testing stuff seems pretty normal though.
- amluto 2y agoNot just flammable hydrogen gas — you are likely to generate chlorine gas, potentially in large amounts.
- thfuran 2y agoTrue, if it's very salty.
- typh0n 2y agoIt's not electrolysis, it's more like electrode boiling.
- cellularmitosis 2y agoIt is absolutely electrolysis. You can try it yourself with a battery and dish of water.
- typh0n 2y agoIt's absolutely not. I already tried it myself with a 3MW generator and a giant tank of saltwater.
- jml7c5 2y agoThe fun part: it does both!
- typh0n 2y agoI see your point, though we barely ever had to top the tank up with water or salt. The amount of gas created was minimal, at least with our setup - admittedly not as fancy as a battery and a dish of water ;)
- QuarterReptile 2y agoAt a previous job, we ran a nuclear reactor but didn't want much electricity, so we'd use the power to turn a giant water wheel with all the surplus steam...
- thfuran 2y agoIs that a euphemism for driving a sub around?
- dylan604 2y agoor a carrier
- dredmorbius 2y agoIn which case they might have mentioned the nuclear-powered slingshots.
- QuarterReptile 2y agoNo, the water wheel ("water brake", they called it) was real, it was for wasting energy, and we didn't go anywhere; but also, yes, it was a submarine, in form, albeit not exactly in function.
- dredmorbius 2y agoIf you can reveal, what sort of facility was this, and in what sector (e.g., business, research, government, military, NGO)?
- typh0n 2y agoI've worked in a rail yard where we overhauled locomotive engine & traction alternator sets, which were generating upwards of 3.3MW so we used a big saltwater resistor as a load bank. It was the only bit of equipment that scared me, because the plates and tank were fairly rusty. I was waiting for it to let go midway through a test and flood the place with boiling salty water (and who knows what chaos the suddenly unloaded generator would have caused)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]