Wiring Lines Research Articles

Detecting Manufacturing Defects on Printed Circuit Boards Using Metamaterial-Based Circular Microstrip Patch Antenna

In this study, a microstrip circular patch antenna is designed having a metamaterial-based (MTM) ground plane to detect manufacturing defects of short circuits and open circuits on printed circuit boards (PCB). In that regard, PCB specimens of FR-4 as the substrate and copper microstrip lines as the conductive wiring lines are designed and manufactured. Five vertical copper lines printed side by side on the top of the substrate are used to demonstrate the working mechanism of the designed antenna sensor. Two different defect scenarios of open and short circuits with controlled locations are studied to determine variations in the return loss data of the proposed structure. MTM cell structures with cross lines enclosed by an octagon ring are periodically placed as part of the ground plane of the proposed antenna to obtain higher sensitivity of the designed and manufactured sensor. Antenna return loss behaviors in terms of the locations of the faults are employed to prepare a database to detect not only the presence of the faults but also determine their locations. Since the samples to be measured are not irreversibly damaged during the testing process, the proposed design can be considered a non-destructive measurement method to provide information about the type and location of defects with real-time measurement data.

A non-puzzle based interconnection scheme for energy savings and income generation from partially shaded photovoltaic modules

ABSTRACT There is a significant effect of partial shade on the generation of power from solar plants. Hence, this paper proposes a new simple reconfiguration technique called Sequential Arrangement Technique (SAT) to disperse the shade on Photo-Voltaic (PV) modules. This method facilitates the numbering of the PV modules, based on the shading pattern during the PV array installation. Furthermore, the PV modules irradiation is distributed column-wise by providing wiring similar to Total Cross Tied (TCT) connection to get minimum row current and enhanced maximum power of 12.31% compared to conventional TCT. The performance of SAT is validated through the analysis, MATLAB simulations, and experimentation under various shading patterns. Furthermore, the analysis has been extended with the energy savings and income generation on various reconfiguration methods under various partial shade conditions. The more energy savings and income generation compared to the existing reconfiguration methods show its adaptability in real-time implementation. The outcomes of the proposed research work are as follows: (i) less wiring line losses along with the less renumbered PV modules of around 39.5%, (ii) developing a simple non-puzzle-based reconfiguration technique to reduce the complexity in implementation, and (iii) improved efficiency with enhanced power generation. To show the effectiveness and usefulness of the SAT reconfiguration, a comparative assessment with the conventional puzzle-based methods is developed with various performance indices.

Research on temperature acquisition system of printing machine oven based on wireless Sensor network

Aiming at the problems such as limited transmission distance of traditional temperature data, complex wiring and aging line, ZigBee wireless network is introduced into the temperature acquisition system of the intaglio printing machine oven, which makes the whole system easy to operate and simple, and greatly improves the transmission distance of temperature signal. The composition of the temperature monitoring system and the hardware circuit of the ZigBee master node are described, including DC 5 V power supply circuit and USB interface power supply circuit, the connection circuit between the RADIO frequency board and the backboard, to realize the construction of the network and the wireless reception of temperature data. To realize the construction of the network and wireless reception of temperature data. It combines ZigBee wireless communication technology to complete real-time transmission of multi-point temperature data, realize real-time LCD display of multi-point temperature data collected by DS18B20, and realize ZigBee networking function based on ZigBee protocol stack.

Optimizing the electrification of roads with charge-while-drive technology

Given the current state of battery technology, applying electric trucks for long-haul transportation is a cumbersome task. Either the driving ranges are too short or high-capacity batteries are so heavy that payloads are limited. An old, yet recently revitalized charging infrastructure, currently evaluated on multiple test tracks all around the globe, allows to charge electric trucks while driving. However, installing the charging infrastructure along highways, namely, overhead wiring or road-embedded power lines both accessed by trucks equipped with a movable contact arm, is costly. This paper provides a detailed modeling approach based on continuous variables to minimize the installation costs for electrified highway kilometers while still providing sufficient energy for a given set of representative tours of electric vehicles. We apply our solution approach to show that investment costs can considerably be reduced along a European highway mainline while still allowing electrified transport among most adjacent major cities. Furthermore, we quantify the loss in precision, if instead of our detailed approach a more aggregate model based on discrete decision variables is applied.

Cooling effect and heat index (HI) assessment on car cabin cooler powered by solar panel in parked car

Damage to the car compartment, thermal discomfort, fuel wastage, health risks, and the death threat of passengers/pets in the cabin due to high temperatures in cars parked under the sun is an interesting discussion. Therefore, this research examines the characteristics of solar cells-based cabin cooler system on car parked under the sun. Four ST32M100W-FLP solar panels installed on the car roof are used to activate the existing evaporator blower with modified wiring lines. The blower is activated in two modes, i.e addition and without addition of external air at blower speed levels 1 (m˙=0.0086 kg/s) and level 2 (m˙=0.0114 kg/s). The results showed that the car cabin cooler able to reduce cabin temperature by 9.8 °C. In addition to temperature reduction, latent and sensible cooling effect, as well as heat index (HI) are also discussed in this paper. It was found that due to increased humidity, the release of sensible heat affects the car cabin cooling while parked under the sun from noon to afternoon. Finally, the car cabin cooler can reduce the heat index (HI) from danger and extreme danger categories to caution and extreme caution category.

Desain Instalasi Listrik Bangunan Bertingkat (Studi Kasus: Pesantren Khoiru Ummah Sumedang)

The electrical installation is a circuit of electrical equipment which is interconnected with one another and it is within the scope of the electrical power system. This article is to present the result of social community service (PkM) activity at Boarding School of STP SMP/SMA KU Sumedang, that shows an electrical installation design of multi-storey building. In construction of multi-storey building of this boarding school, they do not have an electrical installation design. So, the design in this article is to provide design drawings of the electrical installation, so it could be guidance of setting up of electrical installation for the new boarding school building. So that, they got the electrical installation safely for human and the equipment, as well reliable and comfort during using electricity. The design drawings that resulted from the social community service are drawings of front look, beside look, wiring, and single line diagram (SLD). Also, resulted total power calculation, protection, and capacity (rating) of MCB, and calculated cable rating (KHA), choosing type and cross-sectional area of cables that will be used in electrical installation design for the boarding school building.

A Benchmark Distribution System for Investigation of Residential Microgrids With Multiple Local Generation and Storage Devices

A benchmark distribution system is developed for investigating control and energy management of distributed generation (DG) at a residential level in the form of three single-phase microgrids. The benchmark is derived from a typical distribution network architecture with common parameters found in North-America systems including wiring specifications, line impedances and connection details for rooftop PV systems. This benchmark system can accommodate microgrids operating in both grid-connected and islanded modes. Within this benchmark, multiple single-phase DG sources located in different phases can be coordinated to form a dynamically balanced three phase system under different load and generation profiles in different phases. The coordination of DG sources in a particular phase is achieved through an intra-phase power management device, while mitigating loads and generation imbalance among all phases are done by an inter-phase power management scheme. It is expected that this benchmark system will facilitate investigation of impacts posed by proliferation of single-phase distributed generation devices and local storage systems in private residences. Three case studies have been carried out to demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of this benchmark system.

DETERMINATION OF THE QUANTITY OF COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL IN CABLE PRODUCTS IN THE PROCESS OF FIRE SAFETY TESTING

Introduction. In order to protect objects from dangerous manifestations of fire of cable products, electrical lines are designed and projected in accordance with the fire-protection requirements and the normative documents. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to analyze this problem in several areas concerning the situation with a systematic approach to the technical regulation in Ukraine of such a sector of fire safety as the requirements for cable-wiring lines. Methods. Methods of research: calculations using a mathematical model; comparison of the results of the calculation, forecasting of the boundary parameters of the technical condition and monitoring of the cable material properties; examination, qualification, definition of indicators of fire safety of cables and wires in the composition of the electrical grids of buildings, structures, foundations and metal structures, taking into account laying conditions. Different methods for volume and mass calculating, fire tests of electrical and fiber optic cables were applicated. Tests of vertically arranged wires or cables laid in beams on the vertical propagation of the flame (Category A F / R, Category A, Category B) were conducted. Results. The experimental study of the installation parameters test and indicators of fire safety for cable-wiring products in their vertical laying that reduce the overall fire safety level of facility electric power operation were conducted. Critical analysis of the current state of development was done. The basis of the fire safety requirements for standardization of cable lines were formulated. The measures for testing methods implementation with description of these methods were proposed. Conclusion. Determination of the combustible material quantity by volume and by mass is not regulated in the current normative documents on fire safety, although this criterion is often used precisely when establishing requirements for fire safety: to buildings, cable installations, to the installation of fire automatics systems and to others. A method for calculating the volume of combustible material for determining the fire risk of cable-conductive products is proposed. The method can be used during designing of wiring lines and during their exploitation. Experimental researches of fire hazard indicators of cable-wiring products were conducted; their group of flame distribution was installed. The method of determining the quantity of combustible material by volume, by mass and with testing of mass loss of combustible material was applied.

Mitigation of power mismatch losses and wiring line losses of partially shaded solar PV array using improvised magic technique

This study presents the new interconnection scheme for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to mitigate the power mismatch and wiring line losses employing improvised magic technique (IMT). The proposed interconnection scheme provides improved power enhancement compared to conventional total cross tied (TCT) technique. This technique can be implemented on PV array of any order with ‘x’ rows (x > 2) and ‘y’ columns (y > 2). However, in the higher order PV modules, power mismatch loss and wiring loss reduced significantly using segmented improvised magic technique (SIMT). The sequence of reconfiguring the PV modules has been explained using a flowchart and an algorithm both for IMT and SIMT. The effectiveness of these techniques is tested using MATLAB simulations and validated the analysis by comparing the performances with the existing TCT for lower order (3 × 3) with experimentation and higher order (9 × 9) PV modules. Thus, the proposed IMT and SIMT techniques provide the maximum power enhancement, less power mismatch and line loss, and maximum improved efficiency in real-time PV array installations.

Active Power Shifting Strategy for the Bipolar VSC-MTDC

Currently, the bipolar VSC-MTDC has become increasingly popular in practical projects. With the traditional wiring mode, line overload, generator tripping or load shedding may occur if a DC line or converter quits operation. While with a more flexible bipolar wiring mode, power shifting from the faulty network to the healthy one is permitted under same conditions. This paper proposes an active power shifting strategy based on bipolar VSC-MTDC. Since the positive-pole and negative-pole networks can be controlled independently, the transmitted power of the healthy pole network can be increased and that of the faulty pole network can be decreased, which is to avoid power surplus under abnormal operation conditions. This strategy has improved the reliability and transmission capacity of VSC-MTDC system. Then a 4-terminal MTDC simulation is established in PSCAD/EMTDC. The validity of the proposed strategy has been proved by the simulation results.

Roll-to-roll processing of film substrates for hybrid integrated flexible electronics

Roll-to-roll (R2R) processing on film substrates has been demonstrated to have the potential for achieving high throughput manufacturing of organic electronic systems at low cost. However, the ever-growing mobile devices market accompanied by the developments in information and communication technologies require high performance systems at very low power operation, sometimes on larger substrates having sizes in the range of a few metres. Organic electronics often fall short of fulfilling the required computing performance and power requirements of most of the common use cases. Hybrid integration of inorganic monocrystalline silicon chips on polymer films is a means to fulfil the aforementioned requirements. In this context, it is opportune to report our recent activities on R2R processing of plastic films for hybrid integration of flexible electronics. Hybrid integration can be performed with conventional, rigid surface mount devices as well as flexible, ultra-thin bare silicon chips. The first section of the paper is dedicated to a brief overview of R2R manufacturing of electronic devices with an example of production of radio frequency identification tags as well as to a discussion emphasising the targets for hybrid integration. Then, detailed descriptions about our processes for R2R manufacturing of metal wiring lines on films and hybrid integration are included. Three-dimensional integration of films and a temperature sensor label manufactured using hybrid integration process are also elaborated on. Furthermore, key results from fatigue reliability assessment of R2R metallised wiring lines are reported. Finally, some of the challenges in transferring the R2R processes for hybrid integration on film substrates from research labs to industrial manufacturing are highlighted.

Fabrication and characterization of microsieve electrode array (µSEA) enabling cell positioning on 3D electrodes

Here the fabrication and characterization of a novel microelectrode array for electrophysiology applications is described, termed a micro sieve electrode array (µSEA). This silicon based µSEA device allows for hydrodynamic parallel positioning of single cells on 3D electrodes realized on the walls of inverted pyramidal shaped pores. To realize the µSEA, a previously realized silicon sieving structure is provided with a patterned boron doped poly-silicon, connecting the contact electrodes with the 3D sensing electrodes in the pores. A LPCVD silicon-rich silicon nitride layer was used as insulation. The selective opening of this insulation layer at the ends of the wiring lines allows to generate well-defined contact and sensing electrodes according to the layout used in commercial microelectrode array readers. The main challenge lays in the simultaneously selective etching of material at both the planar surface (contact electrode) as well as in the sieving structure containing the (3D) pores (sensing electrodes). For the generation of 3D electrodes in the pores a self-aligning technique was developed using the pore geometry to our advantage. This technique, based on sacrificial layer etching, allows for the fine tuning of the sensing electrode surface area and thus supports the positioning and coupling of single cells on the electrode surface in relation to the cell size. Furthermore, a self-aligning silicide is formed on the sensing electrodes to favour the electrical properties.Experiments were performed to demonstrate the working principle of the µSEA using different types of neuronal cells. Capture efficiency in the pores was >70% with a 70% survival rate of the cell maintained for up to 14 DIV.The TiSi2–boron-doped-poly-silicon sensing electrodes of the µSEA were characterized, which indicated noise levels of <15 µV and impedance values of 360 kΩ. These findings potentially allow for future electrophysiological measurements using the µSEA.

Three Color Algorithm for Two-Layer Printed Circuit Boards Layout with Minimum Via

The printed circuit board (PCB) can be used only 2 layers of front and back. Therefore, the wiring line segments are located in 2 layers without crossing each other. In this case, the line segment can be appear in both layers and this line segment is to resolve the crossing problem go through the via. The via minimization problem (VMP) has minimum number of via in layout design problem. The VMP is classified by NP-complete because of the polynomial time algorithm to solve the optimal solution has been unknown yet. This paper suggests polynomial time algorithm that can be solve the optimal solution of VMP. This algorithm transforms n-line segments into vertices, and p-crossing into edges of a graph. Then this graph is partitioned into 3-coloring sets of each vertex in each set independent each other. For 3-coloring sets <TEX>$C_i$</TEX>, (i=1,2,3), the <TEX>$C_1$</TEX> is assigned to front F, <TEX>$C_2$</TEX> is back B, and <TEX>$C_3$</TEX> is B-F and connected with via. For the various experimental data, though this algorithm can be require O(np) polynomial time, we obtain the optimal solution for all of data.

Phase Shift Analysis and Phase Identification for Distribution System with 3-Phase Unbalanced Constant Current Loads

Power grids are large complicated networks in use around. An absolute phase value for a particular unknown-phase line at a local site should be identified for the operation and management of a 3-phase distribution network. The phase shift for a specific point in the line, as compared with a phase reference point at a substation, must be within a range of ± 60 o for correct identification. However, the phase shift at a particular point can fluctuate depending on the line constants, transformer wiring method, line length, and line amperage, etc. Conducted in this study is a theoretical formulation for the determination of phase at a specific point in the line, Simulink modeling, and analysis for a distribution network. In particular, through evaluating the effects of unbalanced current loads, the limitations of the present phase identification methods are described.

The Development of Santana 2000 Lighting Test Rig

Santana 2000 car is the study of the automotive lighting test rig. In the development process, all parts are arranged in accordance with the original car position, and the original car lighting harness was wiring, and fault box of the simulation of the actual fault was set. Developed automotive lighting test rig can really provide lighting and signal system control principle and process. The whole system or local circuit wiring training and line detection training can be done. Actual troubleshooting ability can be trained by the whole system or local circuit. It is multi-function, much cheaper and has better effect. And it provides real platform for improving the operating ability of the lighting and signal system.

Application of Phasor and Node Voltage Measurements to Monitor Power Flow and Stability

This paper presents the applications of Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) for monitoring the stability of wide area interconnected power system and node voltage measurement for monitoring the power flows inside a building. Wide area measurement system for the power system stability which has been developed by our group is installed at the power outlets in some university campuses in Japan. The system was also applied to Singapore-Malaysia power system. Others, the power flows on the wiring lines in a building are monitored by simultaneous measurements of node voltage at power outlets. Some results are shown in this paper.

Formation of Cu electrical circuit by simplified damascene process based on UV-assisted thermal imprinting

This study explored a simplified micro-scale Cu damascene process based on UV-assisted thermal imprinting of SU-8 to investigate its process merits and potential defects that may occur during and after processing. For comparative study, arbitrary electrical circuits composed of Cu wiring structures with widths ranging from 10 μm to 1 mm were developed in SU-8/Si patterned by UV-assisted thermal imprinting and in oxidized Si samples prepared by reactive ion etching (RIE) followed by thermal oxidation. The imprint-based approach could lower process cycles, equipment cost, and etching gas use, whereas it induced a higher residual stress and more delamination defects. The process studied here are expected to be applied to fabricate micro-scale Cu structures, such as coils, antennas, electrical circuits, and wiring and connecting lines if further enhancements of the adhesion ability between layers and the design of pattern fields in a mold are accomplished.

Voltage pulse-modulated electrochemical removal of copper surface layers using citric acid as a complexing agent

Voltage induced removal of surface layers from wiring lines is an essential component of the electrochemical mechanical planarization (ECMP) technique used for low-pressure processing of copper interconnects. Our present work examines citric acid as a complexing agent for controlling such electro-dissolution of Cu (disc samples) in the absence of mechanical polishing by using voltage pulse modulation. It is shown that the electrochemical rate of Cu removal in low-pH H 2O 2 based citric acid solutions can be maintained at a substantial level without using mechanical abrasion and by applying relatively low activation voltages. These specific features of the citric acid electrolyte may help to avoid strong diffusion limited effects and voltage induced decomposition of ions in ECMP of Cu. Possible contributions of faradaic and nonfaradaic reactions to Cu removal in this system are discussed.

A 2.7 Gcps and 7-Multiplexing CDMA Serial Communication Chip for Real-Time Robot Control with Multiprocessors

Intelligent robot control using multiprocessors, sensors, and actuators requires real-time flexible networks for communicating various types of real-time data, e.g., sensing data and interrupt signals. Furthermore, serial data transfer is required for implementing the network using a few wiring lines. To meet these requirements, we propose a CDMA serial communication interface utilizing novel two-step synchronization. The transmitter and receiver chip fabricated with 0.25μm digital CMOS technology achieved 2.7Gcps (chips per second) and 7-multiplex communication. The experimental interface board was developed for demonstrating flexible transfer of multiimage data by installing CDMA chips in addition to an FPGA.

A 2.7 Gcps and 7-Multiplexing CDMA Serial Communication Chip Using Two-Step Synchronization Technique

Intelligent robot control systems based on multiprocessors, sensors, and actuators require a flexible network for communicating various types of real-time data (e.g. sensing data, interrupt signals). Furthermore, serial data transfer implemented using a few wiring lines is also required. Therefore, a CDMA serial communication interface with a new two-step synchronization technique is proposed to counter these problems. The transmitter and receiver fabricated by 0.25 μm digital CMOS technology achieve 2.7 Gcps (gigachips per second) and can multiplex 7 communication channels.