ENSC 440/ENSC 30515 December 2009

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Shamsul Hoque (Sam) Chief Executive Officer

Amir Najafzadeh Chief Financial Officer

Zhouhao Cui (Joe) Chief Technical Officer

Milad Moezzi Chief Marketing Officer

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Motivation Team Members’ Roles Team Dynamics System Overview High Level System

Design Alternative Solution Marketability Future Upgrades

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Environmental Considerations

Project Specifics Lessons learnt Conclusion Resources Acknowledgements Questions Low Level System Details

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Motivation Team Members’ Roles Team Dynamics System Overview High Level System

Design Alternative Solution Marketability Future Upgrades

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ACSR Wire

Splice Faulty Splice

Splice in a Transmission Line

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Dangers of a faulty Splice Loss of power and electricity transmission Live wire may fall on ground! May even cause electrocution and forest

fires!!

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A typical splice lasts about 20-30 years. Why change it if there is no damage?

After researching expensive not-so-effective existing solutions, we were looking for an alternative

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Zhuohao Cui (Joe) Hardware Design Software

Implementation Research and

Development Shamsul Hoque (Sam)

Research and Development

Quality Assurance Documentation

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Amir Najafzadeh Research and

Development Hardware Design Budgeting

Milad Moezzi Marketing and Finances Hardware Design Troubleshooting

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Efficient weekly meetings were held

Each member was assigned tasks with specific deadlines

Disagreements were overcome maturely

Progress was monitored on a weekly basis

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An alternating magnetic field is generated around a conducting wire

Due to corrosion and other factors, as splices deteriorate, conducting wires slowly loose contact

As strands start becoming inactive, a change in magnetic field intensity can be observed

A Hall Effect Sensor or other sensors can be used to measure this alternating magnetic field intensity

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Operational Algorithm

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Control Unit Hall Effect

Sensors Microcontroller Voltage

Regulators Shifter Circuit Software

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Hall Effect Sensors are able to measure magnetic

field intensity directly in to mili volts (mV), once placed near a current conducting splice

can measure a wide range of magnetic field strengths unlike other sensors

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An actual size HE Sensor

Microcontroller Once input data has been

collected by the Hall Effect Sensors, a Arduino Duemilanove board processes this data

The board has a Atmel ATmega328 chip. It also has a built in analog to digital data converter

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Arduino Duemilanove PIC board

Microcontroller There is a built in 32 kilo bytes

(KB) flash memory, which is more than enough to store sufficient data for one scanning process. After each scanning process, stored data is reset.

There is a dedicated software provided by the manufacturer free of cost which is related to this board

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Arduino Duemilanove PIC board

Shifter Circuit Tests were carried out on a

overhead cable.

When only one strand was conducting current the output voltage was 2.4401V

When all the strands were conducting current the output voltage was 2.508 V

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Voltage Regulator circuit to provide a constant Vcc for a Shifter circuit

Shifter Circuit This provided a very small range

of 60.7 mV to determine a splice’s health

We need a shifter circuit to map the 2.4401-2.508V range to 0-5V range

We also need a voltage regulator to make sure the Op Amp receives constant voltage supply from the source

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Shifter circuit calculations and results

User Interface Unit LCD

This LCD does not require an additional power source to operate. It can be powered using the power from the microcontroller

LEDs The green LED is used to show that data

is within optimal range. The red LED is used to indicate data is out

of range. The blue LED lights up when data is

irrelevant or there is insufficient data.

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Infrared Thermography Technique Use infrared cameras to detect hot

spots.

This process can detect hot spots to determine failures only at later stages of a splice’s life under certain conditions

Wind flow and weather conditions can significantly impact test results

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Resistance Measurement A properly installed splice has lower

resistance than that of a similar length conductor.

It should have a resistance of 30%-80% of the conductor; i.e., the ratio is 0.3-0.8. Any splice with a ratio greater than 1.2 will heat up and show abnormality. Replacements should be made if the ratio goes over 2.0

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X-Ray/Radiography Method Improper installation or misplaced

splices can be a major cause of splice failures.

But this is not an accurate indication of a failed splice as proper placement and alignment do not assure lifetime connection.

It is a costly method to carry out

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Business case

Who would be interested in the product?

Power transmission cable companies Auto-Splice makers Power line maintenance companies Tie-line data management companies

Between countries Between provinces and states

Turbine cross-cables, induced machine cables

Cost

Cost

Cheap i.e. 90-100$ Even cheaper if mass produced

No other product with same accuracy and simplicity Accuracy- Rises as testing period decreases Simplicity- Simple to use, maintain

Way cheaper, when compared with power losses and hazards associated

Cost

Reduces operation cost, from engineering, or high level positions to technicians

As it takes few minutes for each connection point. Big savings on overall costs

Very feasible

Competitors

Competitors

Thermal testing Costly Inefficient Hard to operate

Node by Node Only operational when cable has already failed Power shut off Hard to test and replace in harsh climates

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Hall Effect Sensor Noise Reducing Circuit This is a very simple circuitry that might be

used to reduce introduced noise.

This circuit can be particularly useful where the data is irrelevant and can be filtered out.

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Integrating Hot Stick and separating the user interface unit The ASCA device has multiple power

sources. This gives the device added portability and a chance to power/operate the device from a laptop or an alternating power source.

In future models, for instantaneous observations, the user interface unit can be separated and held in hand while the rest of the device is mounted on overhead wire. For this model to be produced, wiring needs to be incorporated with the hot stick.

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Environmental Considerations

Project Specifics Conclusion Resources Acknowledgements Questions Low Level System Details

Time Line

Time Line

Started On Time ?

Meet The Deadlines ?

The Outcome ?

BUDGETWhat we paid for:

Arduino Micro Controller $45 LEDs $3 LCD Display $17 Bread Board $21 Hall Effect Sensors $50 Regulators $1 Wireless Circuit $25 Battery $35 Electric Kettle $25 Transmission Cable $70

Total $292

COST

Designed to be cheap

Estimated Unit Price: $100

Conclusion

Software

Programming micro-controller i.e. Arduino Applied C++ to coding and debugging LCD display coding and encoding Control of different components in the

circuit, i.e. sensors, LEDs, LCD Timing, between the data captures and

desired time

Hardware

Arduino Duemilanova connections Sensors and regulators Shifting the voltage value to desired Single power source Concepts of load Isolation and cable preparation for testing

In General

Mapping university studies with applied concepts and practices

Management individual and team duties Deadline and what they mean in real world Keeping log book and journal for

organization purposes Communitarian skills and team dynamics

Acknowledgement

Dr. John Bird Steve Whitmore Jason Lee RP Electronics Lee’s Electronics

Questions