Froment Sigma Load Control

Load bank Control

A Froment load bank with Sigma load control and

instrumentation is the leader in simplicity, ease of use
and accuracy.

Sigma brings cost effective solutions to todays power

testing requirements which can require high level
instrumentation, data capture and verification.

Sigma Control Options

Load banks fitted with the Sigma 2 Hardware provide the maximum
flexibility in load control and instrumentation.

Load bank mounted Decade Switches, for quick and easy load
section.
Robust Intelligent Hand-held Terminal (IHT) for remote operation
with full 3-phase instrumentation.
Sigma PC software for enhanced load control, graphical displays and
results storage.
Modbus interface provides integration with PLC, HMI or SCADA
systems. Load step resolutions of 0.1kW, 1kW or 10kW depending on load
Site Load Correction (SLC) automatically prevents the problems bank size.
associated with light loading.
Sigma Instrumentation System (SIS) for Medium Voltage (MV) and Intelligent Hand-held Terminal (IHT) and Sigma PC
High Voltage (HV) testing. software
Both the Intelligent Hand-held Terminal (IHT) and the Sigma PC Software
State-of-the-art Sigma 2 Hardware provides enhanced load control and instrumentation.
The Sigma load bank module is installed with Voltage and Current
Transformers (VTs & CTs) in the Froment load bank. It is the Sigma control Fast and accurate testing with maximum efficiency. IHT or PC control
interface for all the functions within the load bank. is automated and easy to use.
All instrumentation measurements are made using high accuracy
Robust purpose designed microprocessor-based module with voltage and current transformers located within the load bank. This
industrial connectors and LED status display. information is processed digitally, using high speed sampling of
24Vdc supply voltage with 24Vdc input and outputs. the raw data. This provides full three-phase, high speed, true rms
Large flash memory allows remote upgrading and space for measurements with high update rates to class 0.5 accuracy
configuration data and calibration maps. Calculation of rated line current and kilowatts.
Non-volatile RAM provides 500 event history log time stamped by No need for any pre-calculations.
on-board real time clock. Load step resolutions down to 0.1kW or kVAr with fully adjustable
Element on-time balancing provides for enhanced element life and leading and lagging power factors.
insulation resistance. Comprehensive overload and stall protection is provided, based on
Usage counters provide information on individual contactor the rating of the supply-on-test.
operation, element run times, overall power-on time, load-on time Performs transient load tests.
and kWh. Automated load control provides multiple timed load steps including
Load monitoring checks each phase for faulty contactors, blown manual override and cyclic testing.
fuses or faulty elements. Faults are logged with visual indication via In-built test editors allow easy set up of load including % load, power
blinking stop lamp and warning code. factor and time.
Automatic detection senses the supply-on-test voltage, frequency, Manual control via selection of kW, % load, or kVA.
phase and phase rotation. Simple plug / socket connections allow multiple Froment Sigma load
Load correction facility compensates for any voltage drop on supply. banks of differing capacities and combination: resistive, inductive or
The load bank is protected against over-voltage. combined may be connected and controlled from one Intelligent
The load bank cooling fan automatically starts and stops as required. Hand-held terminal (IHT) or PC.
Operation up to a kilometer from load bank.
Decade Switch Control Multilingual user interfaces include English, French, German, Spanish
Decade switch control provides straightforward manual control with the and Italian.
ability to upgrade to full Sigma control and instrumentation.

Quick and easy load selection via decade switches with load accept
and reject buttons, provide the easiest of user interfaces.
Works with single or three phase supply-on-test.
Indicator lamps show current status of load bank operation, load
control and status of the supply-on-test.
Froment Sigma Load Control
Load Bank Control

Intelligent Hand-Held Terminal (IHT) Proofloader PC software is the solution for witness testing, product
The IHT provides full load control and three-phase instrumentation. verification, medium and high voltage testing.

Hardware Used with the Sigma Instrumentation System (SIS) it provides a means
Robust hand-held terminal housed in industrial polycarbonate / of directly measuring actual Medium and High Voltage electrical
polyamide enclosure with pvc hand grips providing IP65 protection. parameters.
Membrane keyboard and back-lit graphic LCD.
Operation and Data Capture A typical layout showing windows customised with digital meters, real
Display pages show all the main electrical parameters. time analogue graphs and control dialogs. A number of pre-customised
The displays are designed to simplify the testing, setup and screen layouts are included with the standard installation and can be
adjustment of gen-sets and UPS systems. modified by the user.
Large display of voltage and frequency assist with initial set up.

When carrying out full-load testing, one page shows all the true rms
three-phase measurements of voltage (V), frequency (Hz), current
(A), power (both kW and kVA) and power factor (Cos ).

Hardware
To run Sigma Proofloader PC software, an industry standard Laptop,
Desktop or Rack Mounted PC is required running Windows 7, Vista or
Windows XP. This can be supplied if required with the software fully
installed and configured.

Operation and Data Capture

Load is selected by clicking and dragging the sliders on the Manual
For transient-response testing, the voltage and frequency of the Load Control dialogue. Load is applied by simply pressing the green
last load change are captured and displayed on the dynamic graph accept button.
including maximum and minimum data.

The status line includes the elapsed time since the last load was Load can be expressed as a percentage of supply, or actual load in
applied. kW or kVA and power factor.
Load selection is displayed in a popup window over the Different load modes supported include kVA and power factor; %
instrumentation while the load is being changed power and power factor; or current and power factor.
Adaptive and Predictive load-correction modes ensure the correct
load is applied even if the voltage or frequency droops.
Continuous power and current instrumentation ensures no blank
meters on load change events.
Supply properties include ratings, alternator, engine, customer and
additional notes are saved with the test results for future reference
or can be saved as a template.

Proofloader PC Software
Proofloader PC software is a Windows based alternative to the
Intelligent Hand-held Terminal (IHT). It provides further enhanced load
control along with transient speed instrumentation, full data acquisition
reporting with graphical displays, real time data such as crest factor
recovery times and % errors necessary for testing to ISO8528.
Froment Sigma Load Control
Load Bank Control

Automatic load control gives the ability to run test programs. Test
programs are created using the Test Program Editor.

Sigma controlled load banks are used to test low voltage gen-sets up to
690V. When testing Medium Voltage (MV) or High Voltage (HV) gen-
sets, Low Voltage (LV) Sigma load banks can be used in conjunction with
Test programs support load ramping (load applied gradually over suitably rated power transformers.
the time entered), delay instructions, looping and data capture
control. The test program can be verified by single-stepping each Power measurements on LV systems cannot provide accurate gen-set
command. readings due to transformer losses. By daisy chaining the SIS into the
Watches can be set to monitor instrumentation values, stop test load bank group using the standard Sigma plug / socket connections
programs and drop the load if required. automatically reverts the instrumentation displayed on Proofloader PC
Data capture can be controlled manually or automatically from a software from the internal load bank LV readings to the external inputs
test program. The data is saved along with the supply details. into the SIS.
Quick start wizard guides you through the setup for a manual or
automatic test. Normal load test functions and operation within Proofloader PC software
Transient data capture at a high instrumentation speed of up to 50 are maintained to ensure comprehensive testing.
readings per second for voltage and frequency data.
Real-time graphical displays of up to 1 second per division, with Hardware
automatic trigger on a load change. Sigma 2 instrumentation with switched input voltage selection.
Individual input sockets, one for voltage and two for current (1 x 1A
and 1 x 5A for connection to external current transformers).
Typically either the 1A or 5A will be used dependent on system
current transformer (CT) ratios.
Operates from a 200-250V AC 50/60Hz single phase mains supply.
IP67 equipment case 470 x 385 x 180mm.

Sigma Modbus Interface

Industry wide serial communications protocol allows integration of a
Sigma 2 load bank with gen-set control system, test cell automation and
building supervisory and monitoring systems through PLC, HMI or SCADA
systems.

Accessible directly from RS232 serial port on Sigma 2 module within

Transient, Heat Run and Summary reports can be printed from load bank where conversion to Ethernet or RS485 is also possible.
results. Transient data is analyzed to calculate voltage and frequency Please see Sigma 2 Modbus Interface technical data sheet for further
recovery times along with maximum deviations, according to information.
ISO8528.
Print reports on your own companyheaded paper. Sigma Site Load Correction (SLC)
Result data can be exported for analysis using other software Automatically maintains the required level of loading on the gen-set to
packages. prevent problems associated with light loading.
Any combination and number of meters and graphs can be displayed
on customizable front-panel windows. External Current Transformers (CTs) are connected to the Sigma
User-defined formulas for meter display, watches and reporting. control system to provide site load information.
When site load increases the load provided by the load bank
Sigma Instrumentation System (SIS) decreases. When site load decreases load provided by the load bank
Housed in a watertight equipment case the SIS is designed to monitor increases.
three-phase electrical supplies primarily during proving trials. The unit The maximum load level required on the gen-set is set within Sigma
provides a means of directly measuring the actual medium or high voltage and may be adjusted by an external decade switch that gives up to
electrical parameters including power, voltage, current and frequency. twelve individual load steps.
Each load step is applied only when site load is continuously below
that of the load step threshold for a predetermined time. Load steps
are released when site load increases above the present selected
load step.

N J Froment & Co Ltd Easton-on-the-Hill, Stamford, PE9 3NP, UK

TEL: +44 (0) 1780 480033 FAX: +44 (0) 1780 480044 [email protected]
Froment is a brand of ASCO power technologies.

froment.co.uk