Electrical Engineering Concepts Research Articles

Low-Cost Digital Twin Approach and Tools to Support Industry and Academia: A Case Study Connecting High-Schools with High Degree Education

Robotics and automation have been a growing area within K–12 educational institutions for the past decade. Across secondary educational institutions, students are introduced to robotics in classes, after-school clubs, and competition leagues through various educational platforms, vendors, and kits. Robotics was initially implemented in schools to help drive more interest in STEM through hands-on application of mechanical, electrical, structural, and computer engineering concepts. Recently, the trend of K–12 robotics has become very niche, focusing more on mobile robotics or robotics competitions. Because of this trend, students have limited exposure to emerging technological advances, such as those found in Industry 4.0. Exciting technological areas, such as digital twins, are not covered in curricula, and this lack of exposure negatively influences the direction of student interest in the “T” and “E” of STEM, with many students never pursuing computer science, technology, or robotics in higher education. The primary goal of this research is to provide a methodology to expose secondary students to Industry 4.0 technologies by leveraging accessible technologies, such as Unity and the Robot Operating System (ROS), to develop a low-cost, high-fidelity digital twin of a pick-and-place robot in a smart warehouse operation. This digital twin prototype will help students to learn about Industry 4.0 trends, such as next-generation automation systems, digital twins, digital manufacturing, intelligent automation, and additive manufacturing, using ROS–Unity integration and hardware accessible to secondary schools to simulate a pick-and-place robotic application. By harnessing the accessibility of Unity and ROS to create a low-cost digital twin prototype for a secondary school, this research has a secondary goal of improving the pipeline of students interested in pursuing STEM-related learning in higher education, thereby ensuring a future STEM workforce that can research, design, develop, operate, and maintain the systems and technologies of Industry 4.0.

Students’ Experience of an Integrated Electrical Engineering and Data Acquisition Course in an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Contribution:</i> This article presents an innovative course sequence to integrate Electrical Engineering (EE) Fundamentals into the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Instrumentation and Data Acquisition (DAQ) course and reports students’ experience relevant to the sequence’s intended outcomes of helping students learn and connect EE concepts with ME applications and develop their engineering identities. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</i> The ME Department at Seattle University was awarded a National Science Foundation Grant to revolutionize its undergraduate program. This project focuses on doing engineering to foster stronger engineering identities. This course sequence is part of the curriculum change for this project and includes open-ended, real-world labs incorporating both EE and DAQ. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research Questions:</i> 1) <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Engineering Learning:</i> What evidence is there that students learned EE and DAQ concepts and integrated them with ME? 2) <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Identity Development:</i> How did the students connect the experience to their evolving identity as engineers? 3) <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Over-Time Experience:</i> How did students experience the course? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methodology:</i> A mix of quantitative and qualitative data was used: quantitative data (a standardized test) and qualitative data source (mini reflections that students provided over the course sequence) were analyzed to address the research questions that connect the educational design aspects and the intended outcomes. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Findings:</i> The new course sequence created an opportunity to do engineering in a rich way and provided fertile ground for developing engineering identities. Students understood and retained EE and DAQ concepts at a level equal to when the material was taught via separate courses.

VR/AR Environment for Training Students on Engineering Applications and Concepts

Modern technologies in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) provide unique features that can be used to facilitate tasks in everyday life. Several courses can be built using augmented reality, such as engine maintenance, computer maintenance, chemistry lab, etc. Augmented reality technologies provide dynamic and interactive instructions to resolve a problem or present required concepts. Building an educational system based on augmented reality is not an easy task due to some difficulties and challenges, such as the cost of augmented reality tools and other hardware and software required. Also, training students with engineering concepts and precise parts involves a lot of analysis and practice to know problems and then design solutions. The paper aims to develop a virtual educational environment for training students in engineering sectors in practical laboratory sessions based on AR/VR techniques. The proposed system provides a safe and low-cost environment to train the student different concepts in engineering sector, such as basic concepts in electrical, mechanical and renewable energy engineering.

Household Appliances Identification: Hands-On Integrative Workshop and Its Adaptation to a Social Distancing Context

Theoretical and practical knowledge integration is essential in Electrical Engineering. Throughout the degree, students must tackle specific problems where they can put into practice difficult concepts and test their learning. Taking this into consideration, an integrative workshop is implemented in the third year that seeks to strengthen skills such as: analysis and design of signal conditioning circuits, designing and printing circuits, signal acquisition and processing, pattern recognition and classification, integration of a system. The workshop is based on the topic of load identification which is a challenging problem, suitable for developing multiple electrical engineering concepts and also an interesting subject for the initiation of the students to research. This article shares the 2019 edition experience and its adaptation to non-classroom classes in 2020 in the context of social distancing restrictions due the coronavirus disease. The 2019 didactic proposal and the necessary modifications for 2020 are presented and analyzed. Although loosing the fruitful interaction between teachers and students in the lab in 2020, most of the hands-on activities could be maintained helped by the use of USB oscilloscopes/analyzers that give students the functionality of a lab at home. It is concluded that both editions, in spite of their different teaching modalities, achieved good academic results.

(Invited) Soft Microfluidic Systems for the Skin

Biological tissues are mechanically soft, with complex, time-dependent 3D curvilinear shapes; modern microfluidic technologies are rigid, with simple, static 2D layouts. Eliminating this profound mismatch in physical properties will create vast opportunities in man-made systems that can intimately integrate with the human body, for diagnostic, therapeutic or surgical function with important, unique capabilities in fitness/wellness, sports performance and clinical healthcare. Over the last decade, a convergence of new concepts in materials science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and advanced manufacturing has led to the emergence of diverse, novel classes of 'biocompatible' electronic and microfluidic systems with skin-like physical properties. This talk describes the key ideas and presents some of the most recent device examples, with a focus on microfluidic platforms that can capture, manipulate and perform biomarker analysis on microliter volumes of sweat, with applications in precise hydration management in sports and fitness, including commercial devices featured on celebrity sports figures with Gatorade.

Modern Tesla Coil as a Multidisciplinary Example in STEM Teaching

A modern Tesla coil is an excellent multidisciplinary example in undergraduate STEM teaching. It incorporates several concepts from physics and electrical engineering. For example, Ampere’s law and Faraday’s law are concepts in physics while an LC circuit, an RLC circuit, and the properties of a transistor are concepts in electrical engineering. A Tesla coil shows the intimate relationship between electricity and magnetism. Ampere’s law states that a current induces a magnetic field and Faraday’s law states that a changing magnetic flux induces a voltage. In a classical Tesla coil, a spark gap switches the current on and off flowing through the primary coil. Meanwhile, in many modern Tesla coils, a transistor is used instead of a spark gap, since it can switch on and off very quickly using a lower voltage. Several papers described how modern tesla coils work. However, the designs of modern Tesla coils were complicated and the mathematical descriptions for Tesla coils were beyond undergraduate students’ level. This paper describes a modern Tesla coil by providing mathematical details that are appropriate for undergraduate students’ level. To satisfy the educational purpose of this paper, we also choose the simplest design for a modern Tesla coil. The primary circuit in a modern Tesla coil used here is a parallel RLC circuit. We show that it can play the same role as the series RLC circuit of the primary circuit in the classical Tesla coil.

A keyless Entry System based on Arduino board with Wi-Fi technology

Controlling door access is an important aspect regarding real-life problems. The problem arises when there is a difficulty to access a certain facility, especially when keys are not available.This is paper proposes a keyless Entry System that focus on using Arduino circuit board together with a Wi-Fi module and php language in order to grant access to a locked door.The main goal of this work is to combine both software and hardware to solve real-life problems like the one this paper focusing on. The second goal is to explore which services can be obtained when such systems applied on the ground. Finally, to gain knowledge regarding basic Electrical Engineering concepts with respect to circuit boards and hardware implementation.A prototype of the suggested system and a web site were created for system user to have a control over his room door to lock or unlock it remontely.The created prototype of the proposed system shows that the introduced one will be helpful for those who are concerned with such problems will make life much easier by applying it.

Characterization of carbon-composite antennas for wireless charging

The objective of the presented work is to take advantage of the precision capabilities of tailor-fiber-placement (TFP) embroidery processes in order to qualify carbon-fiber parts as viable antennas for wireless power transfer applications in multifunctional carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites. The solution comes first from a literature study of electrical, high-frequency, and textile engineering concepts. This review built familiarity with the technological challenges and state-of-the-art of the presented technology. Next step was iterative experimentation of machine capabilities for the production of carbon-fiber antennas. Finally, antenna prototypes were produced and their physical and electrical characteristics were evaluated through several test methods. The results showed that TFP embroidery machines were capable of producing quality, carbon antennas. Induction values of the antennas from 0.5 to 3.5 ‘H were achieved. Signal transfer efficiencies from carbon-antenna transmitters to an aftermarket receiver show promise in commercial application.

APPLICATION OF VYSHNEGRADKY'S DIAGRAMS FOR TRANSIENT ANALYSIS IN ELECTRIC DISCHARGE INSTALLATIONS WITH STOCHASTIC LOAD

Purpose. To analyze the transient processes in the discharge circuit of reservoir capacitor of electric discharge installations at a change in the circuit configuration during the discharge as well as to determine the appropriate circuit parameters for which the discharge process described by the third-order differential equation remains a damped oscillatory process. Methodology. We have applied the concepts of theoretical electrical engineering, the principles of theory of electrical circuits, theory of automatic control systems and mathematical simulation in the software package MathCAD 12. Results. We have obtained the analytical expressions and graphical dependencies that allow us to determine a relationship between the value of the element parameters of the discharge circuit of installations with an additional active-inductive chain and the character of the transient discharge process without solving a third-order differential equation. Originality. Using Vyshnegradsky's criteria and their graphical representations in the form of diagrams, we have proposed the procedure for determining the inductance value in additional chain shunting the capacitor of electric discharge installation in order to avoid the undesirable aperiodic discharge transient process in the stochastic load. Practical value. The use of this approach makes it possible to determine the ranges of the expedient change in the additional inductance at different load resistances for the realization of transient process required by the technology – the oscillatory discharge of the reservoir capacitor trough the load.

METHOD FOR VOLTAGE CONTROL IN CHARGE CIRCUIT OF ELECTRIC DISCHARGE INSTALLATIONS WITH TWO CAPACITORS UNDER NONZERO INITIAL CONDITIONS

Purpose. To analyze the transient processes in the charge circuit of electric discharge installations with two capacitors, taking into account the change in the initial conditions of such processes (initial voltage on the capacitors and the initial current in the charge circuit) as well as to develop the method for charge voltage control of such installations using purposeful change of these initial conditions. Methodology. We have applied the concepts of theoretical electrical engineering, the principles of theory of electrical circuits, and mathematical simulation in the software package MathCAD 12. Results. We have obtained analytical expressions and graphical dependencies establishing a quantitative relationship between the value of the maximum charge voltage of an electric discharge installation and the values of the initial voltage on its capacitors and the initial current in the circuit. This allows us to propose the method for the charge voltage control of electric discharge installations with two reservoir capacitors, using a purposeful change in their initial voltages and initial current in the charge circuit. Originality. For the first time, we have found that the charge voltage of the installation can be controlled using two influence mechanisms – either changing the initial current in the charge circuit (by interrupting the transient process of the first capacitor charge at a certain time) or using a nonzero initial voltage on the charged second capacitor. In this case the charge voltage can be varied by 2 times. Practical value. The use of this method makes it possible to obtain discharge pulses of complex shape in the technological load, since the maximum charge voltages of the first capacitor and second one can differ by a factor of 1.5.

CALCULATION OF THE EQUIVALENT ELECTRICAL PARAMETERS OF THE INDUCTOR OF INDUCTION CHANNEL FURNACE WITH DEFECTS IN ITS LINING

Aim. The aim of the paper is to determine a quantitative relationship between measured impedance of the inductor and the electrical characteristics of the separated melt circuit parts for the determination of the place of a liquid metal leakage and for the improvement in such way the diagnostic system of lining state of induction channel furnaces. Technique. The study was performed on the basis of the concepts of theoretical electrical engineering, mathematical physics, and mathematical modeling. Results. Using two equivalent electrical circuits of the inductor the analytical expressions and graphical dependencies, which determine a quantitative relationship between the parameters of the separated parts of a liquid-metal circuit and the impedance of the whole inductor measured in practice, for the presence of different lining defects, were found. The method for calculating the increments of equivalent electrical parameters of the inductor as a function of increments of the parameters of the secondary liquid-metal circuit was proposed. Scientific novelty. It is proved that for small changes (less than 10 %) of the parameters of the liquid-metal circuit, it is expedient to use a linear relationship between its increments and to create the sensitivity matrix, which clearly shows the presence of a strong or weak interrelation between the disturbed values of the parameters of the secondary circuit and the inductor. Practical significance. The use of this technique allows to develop the database for various types of lining defects for a given furnace and on its basis to predict the places of a melt leakage and the state of furnace lining owing to periodical measurements of the inductor parameters.

Simulation Model of Wind Turbine Power Control System with Fuzzy Regulation by Mamdani and Larsen Algorithms

Abstract &#x0D; The aim of this work is to create a power control system for wind turbines based on fuzzy logic. Three power control loop was considered including: changing the pitch angle of the blade, changing the length of the blade and turning the nacelle. The stochastic law was given for changes and instant inaccurate assessment of wind conditions changes. Two different algorithms were used for fuzzy inference in the control loop, the Mamdani and Larsen algorithms. These two different algorithms are materialized and developed in this study in Matlab-Fuzzy logic toolbox which has been practically implemented using necessary intelligent control system in electrical engineering and renewable energy concepts.&#x0D; A comparison was done to access the functionality of the developed power control system of fuzzy logic and classical control system with PID – control. It can be concluded that the power control system of fuzzy logic allows to accurately maintain production under the control target function for each work area. When switching operation of wind turbines, it has the distinction that from 13.5 m/s to another wind velocity value, there is no overshoot and a typical of classical control systems, and when the wind velocity V is less than13.5 m / s, the pitch angle of the blades should be slightly greater than zero, and if it has increased by 5 °, then blade length should be minimal as possible. Simulation program proved the possibility of effective power regulation for the large wind turbines controller fuzzy type on the basis of knowledge production "if - then" rules, which were shown to be effective on these wind turbines control.&#x0D; Keywords: Mamdani and Larsen algorithms fuzzy inference, Matlab Fuzzy Logic ,Fuzzy-PID controllers, Wind turbine.

Educational Robot for Principles of Electrical Engineering

An educational robot is described, which is designed and constructed for use in the laboratory of Principles of Electrical Engineering. The discrete nature of design, conforming to a simple block strategy, allows fairly easy introduction of basic and fundamental concepts of Electrical Engineering to the freshman students, including control, actuation, wireless signal transmission, and analogue/digital conversions. Each block or module represents one or few engineering ideas, and helps the students to understand the interplay and connection between system divisions, and enhance their creative thinking. Circuits are designed and implemented that both the structure and functionality of each module are clearly presented. Inputs and outputs as well as major signals can be traced and measured through several test points

Digital Laboratory Experiences: Creating Videos for Undergraduate Engineering Practical Sessions

&lt;p&gt;This paper will go over the method used to record and present practical sessions to students studying undergraduate engineering as ‘digital laboratory experiences’. The aim of the practical sessions was to give students exposure to simple electrical engineering concepts to supplement their project based learning in a two credit point unit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Outlined are the goals the practical sessions, the process of capturing footage and editing a video file for the students; and finally a discussion on student attendance to in person practical sessions once the videos were made available. After this, future work to be completed is discussed, mentioning possible improvements that could be made. &lt;/p&gt;

DNA for data storage and computing

On the surface, genetic and electrical engineering appear to have little in common. One field revolves around carbon and the other is built upon silicon; one makes RNA from DNA and the other converts AC to DC. Some biologists have begun to apply the concepts of electrical engineering to living cells, literally programming them for data storage and computation. Image courtesy of Timothy Lu and Yan Liang. But some creative biologists have begun to apply the concepts of electrical engineering to living cells. “We view ourselves as biological programmers,” says Timothy Lu, a member of the Synthetic Biology Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Lu and others are engineering circuits into bacterial cells, literally programming them for functions, such as data storage and computation. DNA’s straightforward, self-replicating helices are easy to amplify, modify, and are generally quite stable, says Lu. And since each position of DNA can encode four different pieces of information—A, T, G, or C—instead of just two, as with classic binary silicon systems, DNA could someday, in principle, store more data in less space. “The same properties that make DNA a great genetic code for living organisms also makes it an interesting substrate to engineer,” …

Development, Implementation, Assessment of a Web-based Circuit Solver for Teaching Basic Electrical Circuits Theory

In this paper, an interactive web-based circuit simulator tool (CirSim) is presented to enhance students learning skills and assist them to grasp the basic concepts of the preliminary electrical engineering courses by providing innovative methods for interactive teaching and testing. The project aims to achieve the following goals: 1) Develop enhanced problem solving skills using the internet as a portable platform for the education environment. 2) Develop design skills and sharpen critical thinking. 3) Develop global and comprehensive teaching circuit tools which can be adopted nationally for educational purposes. Students can use the online circuit simulator to carry out circuit simulation on the web and access it virtually from any place. The proposed simulator provides a user friendly graphical user interface (GUI) which has the capability to allow students to conduct DC and AC circuit simulation analysis and provide the option to plot the circuit responses graphically. Finally, a preliminary study has been done on a group of students to show the effectiveness of the e-learning using the proposed web-based circuit solver on the achievement of students. The results show a great feedback from students and improved performance in learning the basic electrical engineering concepts.

Outreach Program in Electrical Engineering: Pre-College for Engineering Systems (PCES)

This paper presents the outcome of a summer precollege engineering enrichment program. The purpose of the summer outreach program is to promote and expose pre-college students to electrical engineering concepts and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics as well as hands on research projects. The summer program is typically a six-week summer outreach program that attracts U.S. high school students and international students from abroad. Sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Science Foundation (NSF), the summer program is generally offered to under-represented high school students who have completed their junior year of high school and for seniors who plan to attend universities in the fall semester in the area of engineering. The program has demonstrated the potential to attract and graduate talented youth, including college students as mentors, who later enrolled in advanced degree programs at college and university levels. This Pre-College for Engineering Systems is a residential program coordinated by the Center for Energy Systems and Control (CESaC), within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Howard University. CESaC hopes that this summer program can serve as a national model for increasing the number of under-represented groups in electrical engineering and system. Based on the objectives and subsequent outcomes, the program can serve as a national model for increasing the number of under-represented groups in electrical computer engineering with an emphasis in power and energy specialization.

Design and implementation of a remote laboratory platform using MATLAB builder for NE

ABSTRACTIn this study, a highly instructive and novel remote laboratory platform using up to date software and hardware units is designed to teach main concepts of Electrical Engineering with the help of web‐based simulations and remote accessible experiments in real time. Interactive experimental applications for direct current (DC) motors and several electrical circuits are carried out in this study to test the efficiency of the system. First, mathematical model of each simulation is developed in MATLAB and then all models are transferred into .NET platform by means of MATLAB Builder for NE toolbox. A dynamic library for each model is also created using NE toolbox. Then, all libraries are embedded into an interactive web page designed in ASP.NET platform. Data transmission between the server and the real experimental set is established by a microprocessor via the USB port to achieve the experimental studies over the Internet in real time. While remote experiments are being performed, data obtained by the experimental set are simultaneously transferred to the MATLAB. Then, the system generates both graphical and numerical results about the current experiment and all results are sent to a user‐friendly web interface to give users some feedback on the experiment.© 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 22:617–629, 2014; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.21553

Magnetic Balance for Teaching Metrology Concepts in Electrical Engineering

In this paper a successful and inexpensive laboratory exercise is presented for explaining basic metrology concepts (reference value, standard, measuring error, traceability of measurement, measuring uncertainty) to undergraduate students of electrical engineering. For a better understanding, a common mass measurement was used. Mass of weights was measured by using a modified audio speaker as a weight balance, working on the principle of electromagnetic levitation. Speaker-balance measuring range was 10 g to 1000 g, with relative uncertainty of 3%. Students could learn about problems of the definition of the kilogram, about mass measurements and balances, repeatability of measurements, uncertainty budget calculations, and common measuring uncertainty contributions.

Graphical Programming Tools for Electrical Engineering Higher Education

As the engineering education and computer technologies for industry merge, the opportunities for teaching and learning will also expand. In such context, a large number of academic courses that teach electrical engineering concepts have incorporated the graphical programming as educational tool for student use. The current paper discuses some of the most popular graphical programming packages, identifies two alternative solutions and shows how the virtual instrumentation approach pioneered by LabVIEW may enhance the electrical engineering curricula.