Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Operating point
Summary
The operating point is a specific point within the operation characteristic of a technical device. This point will be engaged because of the properties of the system and the outside influences and parameters. In electronic engineering establishing an operating point is called biasing.
The operating point of a system is the intersection point of the torque-speed curve of drive and machine. Both devices are linked with a shaft so the speed is always identical. The drive creates the torque which rotates both devices. The machine creates the counter-torque, e.g. by being a moved device which needs permanent energy or a wheel turning against the static friction of the track.
The drive speed increases when the driving torque is higher than the counter-torque.
The drive speed decreases when the counter-torque is higher than the driving torque.
At the operating point, the driving torque and the counter-torque are balanced, so the speed does not change anymore.
A speed change in a stable operating point creates a torque change which acts against this change of speed.
A change in speed out of this stable operating point is only possible with a new control intervention. This can be changing the load of the machine or the power of the drive which both changes the torque because it is a change in the characteristic curves. The drive-machine system then runs to a new operating point with a different speed and a different balance of torques.
Should the drive torque be higher than the counter torque at any time then the system does not have an operating point. The result will be that the speed increases up to the idle speed or even until destruction. Should the counter torque be higher at any times the speed will decrease until the system stops.
Also in case of an unstable operating point the law of the balance of the torques is always valid. But when the operating point is unstable then the characteristics of drive and machine are nearly parallel. In such a case a small change in torque will result in a big change of speed.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.