Equipment

Lab Equipment

The Srivastava Senior Design Lab has a wide selection of equipment that provides nearly all of the capabilities of the other ECE teaching labs in one place. Although the equipment may not be identical to that found in these other teaching labs, similar functionality is offered. Use the experience of learning new equipment as a way to expand your horizons. If you are using a piece of equipment for the first time, ask a TA for assistance, to make sure you understand how to safely use it. If the available equipment does not meet the needs of your project, talk to the course staff, and we will help you find what you need elsewhere on campus, consider purchasing it for the senior design lab (if it would be used by many groups), or brainstorm alternate ways to solve your problem.

Lab Kits

Each team is provided with at least one lockable storage drawer in the lab as well as a portable lab kit. An additional drawer and/or kit may be issued as need arises and facilities allow.

The lab kit includes a box with carrying handle and contains a wiring board for prototyping circuit projects, a multiple-output power supply, a digital multimeter, and a set of 8 cables (2 bnc/bnc, 2bnc/pin, 2 banana/banana, and 2 banana/pin). This is checked out to you by your TA at the beginning of the semester and must be returned undamaged at the end of the semester. Missing lab kits will result in an encumbrance or withheld diploma and a charge of $500.00, so always be sure to lock your lockers! Also, do not store any cables from the lab in your kit. Doing so will result in a loss of points.

Test Equipment

Most equipment is connected to the PCs via HPIB cables. Below is a sampling of the test equipment available:

Specific setups at the various lab benches can be in the listing at the bottom of this page.

Computers

The lab has PCs with enough processing power for the needs of nearly any senior design project. These machines are networked to a high-capacity laser printer (printing will count against your standard print quota). Each has an Ethernet connection to the campus network, an HPIB interface card connecting it to all of the standard instruments on its bench, and a sound card. The computers are maintained by Engineering IT, located in 3080 ECE Building.

The PCs are presently configured with the software shown here. Their primary uses include:

Test Equipment (Listed by lab bench)

 
Bench: A
Oscilloscope Rohde & Schwarz RTE 1054
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
 
Bench: B
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO7104B
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
 
Bench: C
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO-X 3034A
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Pulse Generator Hewlett-Packard 8011A
Dual Output Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6234A
 
Bench: D (Power)
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO-X 6004A
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Pulse Generator Hewlett-Packard 8011A
Triple Output Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6235A
Digital Power Analyzer Valhalla Scientific 2101
DC Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6632A
DC Electronic Load Agilent 6060B
kW Power Supply Sorensen DCS 20-50
 
Bench: E
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO-X 3034A
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Pulse Generator Hewlett-Packard 8011A
 
Bench: F
Oscilloscope and Logic Analyzer Teledyne LeCroy HDO 4054-MS
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Pulse Generator Hewlett-Packard 8011A
 
Bench: G (power)
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO-X 6004A
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Triple Output Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6235A
DC Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6632A
DC Electronic Load Hewlett-Packard 6060B
Current Probe Amplifier Tektronix AM 503
 
Bench: H (RF)
Mixed Domain Oscilloscope Tektronix MDO4054B-3
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
S-Parameter Network Analyzer Hewlett-Packard 8753ES
S-Parameter Test Set Hewlett-Packard 85047A
Pulse Generator Hewlett-Packard 8011A
Signal Generator Hewlett-Packard 8657B
 
Bench: I
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO7104B
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Pulse Generator Hewlett-Packard 8011A
Dual Output Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6234A
 
Bench: J (RF)
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO7104B
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Triple Output Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6235A
DC Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6632A
Network Analyzer Hewlett-Packard 8751A
S-Parameter Test Set Hewlett-Packard 87511A
 
Bench: K
Oscilloscope and Logic Analyzer Teledyne LeCroy HDO 4054-MS
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Dual Output Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6234A
 
Bench: L (RF)
Mixed Domain Oscilloscope Tektronix MDO4054B-3
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Vector Signal Analyzer Agilent 89441A
RF Section Hewlett-Packard 89440A
Signal Generator Hewlett-Packard 8657B
Precision LCR Meter Hewlett-Packard 4284A
 
Bench: M
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO7104B
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
 
Bench: N
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO-X 3034A
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
 
Bench: O
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO-X 3034A
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series
Pulse Generator Hewlett-Packard 8011A
Triple Output Power Supply Hewlett-Packard 6235A
Communications Receiver AOR AR5000
 
Bench: P
Oscilloscope Agilent DSO-X 3034A
Digital Multimeter Keysight 34461A
Triple Output DC Power Supply Keysight E3631A
Waveform Generator Agilent 33500B Series

El Durazno Wind Turbine Project

Alexander Hardiek, Saanil Joshi, Ganpath Karl

El Durazno Wind Turbine Project

Featured Project

Partners: Alexander Hardiek (ahardi6), Saanil Joshi (stjoshi2), and Ganpath Karl (gkarl2)

Project Description: We have decided to innovate a low cost wind turbine to help the villagers of El Durazno in Guatemala access water from mountains, based on the pitch of Prof. Ann Witmer.

Problem: There is currently no water distribution system in place for the villagers to gain access to water. They have to travel my foot over larger distances on mountainous terrain to fetch water. For this reason, it would be better if water could be pumped to a containment tank closer to the village and hopefully distributed with the help of a gravity flow system.

There is an electrical grid system present, however, it is too expensive for the villagers to use. Therefore, we need a cheap renewable energy solution to the problem. Solar energy is not possible as the mountain does not receive enough solar energy to power a motor. Wind energy is a good alternative as the wind speeds and high and since it is a mountain, there is no hindrance to the wind flow.

Solution Overview: We are solving the power generation challenge created by a mismatch between the speed of the wind and the necessary rotational speed required to produce power by the turbine’s generator. We have access to several used car parts, allowing us to salvage or modify different induction motors and gears to make the system work.

We have two approaches we are taking. One method is converting the induction motor to a generator by removing the need of an initial battery input and using the magnetic field created by the magnets. The other method is to rewire the stator so the motor can spin at the necessary rpm.

Subsystems: Our system components are split into two categories: Mechanical and Electrical. All mechanical components came from a used Toyota car such as the wheel hub cap, serpentine belt, car body blade, wheel hub, torsion rod. These components help us covert wind energy into mechanical energy and are already built and ready. Meanwhile, the electrical components are available in the car such as the alternator (induction motor) and are designed by us such as the power electronics (AC/DC converters). We will use capacitors, diodes, relays, resistors and integrated circuits on our printed circuit boards to develop the power electronics. Our electrical components convert the mechanical energy in the turbine into electrical energy available to the residents.

Criterion for success: Our project will be successful when we can successfully convert the available wind energy from our meteorological data into electricity at a low cost from reusable parts available to the residents of El Durazno. In the future, their residents will prototype several versions of our turbine to pump water from the mountains.