Project Readiness Package Rev 7/22/11

Introduction:

Located in Syracuse, NY, Cooper Crouse-Hinds Industries is a leading manufacturer of luminaires for use in hazardous locations. By hazardous location it is understood a site where the presence of gases, dust or fibers can create a fire or an explosion if a spark or a flame is present. To avoid the catastrophic consequences of an explosion, these luminaires require a particular design and rigorous testing protocol.

Their design must be capable to contain an explosion or to prevent the spread of a flame to the surrounding area. UL 844 test method specifies several testing protocols for these types of luminaires. One of them refers to the temperature of the coils during normal service conditions.

The objective of this project is to design and build a prototype of test stand capable of measuring the internal coil temperature of an H.I.D. ballast utilizing the change of resistance method per UL844 standard.

Administrative Information:

·  Project Name (tentative): / A prototype of a change of resistance test stand
·  Project Number, if known: / P13472

·  Preferred Start/End Quarter in Senior Design:

Fall/Winter / Fall/Spring / xWinter/Spring

·  Faculty Champion: (technical mentor: supports proposal development, anticipated technical mentor during project execution; may also be Sponsor)

Name / Dept. / Email / Phone
Benjamin Varela / ME / / 5-4737

For assistance identifying a Champion

Other Support, if known:

Name / Dept. / Email / Phone
George Slack / EE / / 5-5105
Chris Hopple / EE / / 5-7117

·  Project “Guide” if known: Benjamin Varela

·  Primary Customer, if known (name, phone, email): Joe Manahan, 315-477-5768,

·  Sponsor(s): (provider(s) of financial support)

Name/Organization / Contact Info. / Type & Amount of Support Committed
Cooper Crouse-Hinds / Joe Manahan / TBD

Project Overview:

To design and build a prototype test stand capable of measuring the internal coil temperature of an H.I.D. magnetic ballast by the change of resistance (linear regression) method per UL844 standard. The test performed shall be user configured through a custom interface using LabView. The user will provide information such as ambient temperature, coil material ( aluminum or cooper) and coil connections. The test stand shall have the ability to make 4-wire resistance measurements for up to 6 coils. Each coil operates in the 120 to 600 VAC 50-60 Hz range. The LabView program shall communicate with the measurement hardware to perform the test and store the readings in 9 separate files. The tests stand shall interface to the existing interface enclosure through a 2 pin Amphenol (or Cooper Crouse-Hinds) connector.

As shown in the following picture, the customer already has a system to perform this test, which was probably built in the early 1980’s, and is looking to replace it with a brand new one designed by RIT students.

The following diagram presents a sketch of the main components associated with the current stand and most probably the main components associated with the prototype design.

Detailed Project Description:

·  Customer Needs and Objectives:

1) The team shall design and build the interface relay circuit. This circuit shall operate in the 120-600 VAC, 50-60 Hz range. This circuit shall connect to the enclosure using a 2 pin Amphenol cable or similar manufactured by Cooper Crouse-Hinds. This circuit controls the electrical power for the operation of the test sample. The customer provided a diagram for this electric circuit as shown in the following figure, but is open to consider alternative designs.

2) The team shall select and purchase the required Multimeter capable of reading the resistance of the coils with a resolution of 0.01 Ohms. This device must be able to be calibrated.

3) The team shall select and purchase the required data acquisition system.

4) The team shall incorporate in their design a thermocouple to measure the ambient temperature of the core at the beginning of the test.

5) The team shall write LabView program to do the following:

5.1 Communicate with the measurement hardware.

5.2 Measure the resistance of the coils for up to 6 coils. The first stabilized measurement shall be taken within 5 seconds. Each reading must be taken one at a time. A minimum of 40 readings must be completed in 30 seconds.

5.3 It shall provide the flexibility to the operator to test all the coils or any combination of them.

5.4 It shall make a plot of the resistance vs. time for each coil.

5.5 It shall make a linear regression of the data and calculate the temperature of the coil at the beginning of the test.

5.6 It shall store all the data in up to 9 different files. The data files format must be portable (i.e. MS Excel or CSV).

5.7 The operator shall be able to input time, date and coil material (cooper or aluminum) and be able to select the following functions: pre-run test, run auto-test, vie results, print results and terminate.

6) All the components of the prototype test stand must be contained within a rolling enclosure.

7) The design must comply with UL844.

·  Constraints:

Working with voltages above 120 VAC represent a risk for the safety of the students. For this reason is recommended that the relay circuit and all the components in this prototype be selected and sized to operate up to 600 VAC but tested at 120 VAC. For the preliminary testing at RIT, it is recommended that the customer provide a 4 wire H.I.D. ballast that can be safely operated at 120 VAC, if this is not possible then the team can purchase an off the shelf H.I.D ballast for under $300.

Once the preliminary test has been completed at RIT and the circuit debugged using one ballast, the team shall run a test at the customer site using a ballast that operates at 120 VAC.

·  Project Deliverables:

-A prototype test stand

-Copy of LabView code

-Manual for operation and calibration

·  Budget Estimate: Approximately $3000.00

·  Intellectual Property (IP) considerations:

·  Other Information:

The team must travel to customer’s site to witness the actual test. A minimum of two travels is required.

·  Continuation Project Information, if appropriate:

Student Staffing:

·  Skills Checklist: Complete the “PRP_Checklist” document and include with your submission.

·  Anticipated Staffing Levels by Discipline:

Discipline / How Many? / Anticipated Skills Needed (concise descriptions)
EE
ME / 2 / LabView, circuits, ProE,
CE
ISE
Other

Other Resources Anticipated:

Describe resources needed to support successful development, implementation, and utilization of the project. This could include specific faculty expertise, laboratory space and equipment, outside services, customer facilities, etc. Indicate if resources are available, to your knowledge.

Category / Description / Resource Available?
Faculty / EE consultant
Environment / PC lab / x
Equipment / Machine shop
Materials
Other / Working space in the 4th floor
Prepared by: / Benjamin Varela / Date: / November 7, 2012

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