Ridley Park, PA · 2006 – 2008
A State of the Art, 18,000 HP, 13,200 Volt, 36 Pulse Variable Frequency Drive custom designed to fit in the Liquid Rheostat Room enabled the replacement of a 16,000 HP Wound Rotor Motor with a custom designed 120,000 pound, AC Synchronous Motor within the Wind Tunnel's Nacelle using the same motor mounting pads and motor coupling. Delaware Valley Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award Winner in 2009.
After 25 years of providing engineering and design services for the Boeing Plant in Ridley Park, PA, Maida Engineering, Inc. was awarded a sole source engineering and design contract for the project to replace the original system, consisting of a 16,000 HP wound-rotor induction motor with liquid resistance starters, for its large scale low-speed wind tunnel. The multi-discipline project started with conceptual design and ended with on-site construction management and commissioning of a new 18,700 HP, 6,600 V ABB ACS-5000 13.2 KV Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) and a new Synchronous Motor. The scope included specification and procurement of the MV VFD, design of 36-pulse phase-shifting transformers to suppress low-order harmonic currents, two new 112-ton evaporative cooling towers to reject the heat generated by the drive, and new controls interface replaced the existing motor control room with a PLC-based system providing precise speed commands to the drive. Some of the project's challenges included installing the new VFD in the liquid rheostat room while the tunnel remained operational and the rigging for the new custom designed 120,000-pound Synchronous motor onto the motor pads in the wind tunnel's nacelle through an opening with only 3.5 inches of clearance on each side. The project was completed on schedule with no interruption to Boeing's flight-test program and was recognized with the 2009 Engineering Achievement Award from the Engineering Societies of the Delaware Valley.