Date of Award

2020

Degree Type

Capstone Project

First Advisor

Dr. Bahram Nassersharif

Abstract

KVH industries is a leader in telecommunications devices and has been known for world renowned satellite dishes. The company has set out to resolve every issue from software development to mechanical hardware. Recently, KVH has set upon a new endeavor which is to solve a problem with respect to a given theory discovered by deterioration of electric motors’ bearings used on satellite systems across Earth’s inner orbit. The theory is led to believe that there is a correlation between solar flares and bearing failures. The failures in the bearings are believed to be caused by the solar flares releasing a large amount of static electricity or stray currents into the bearing housing, creating divots. These divots disallow the bearing to rotate properly and accelerate the deterioration of the inner working portion of the system.

KVH industries there upon created a task for Rhode Island engineers to simulate this specific situation to find out whether high amounts of static electricity or stray current contribute to the deterioration of the bearing system. The parameters were discussed to be open ended and the design problem was also discussed to have low limitations.

Team 15 approached the problem by first investigating the amount of voltage and current needed to perform such experiments. Research of related ideas, professional projects and patents ensued. Team 15’s design process included comparing and contrasting a plethora of hypothetical drawings and propositions. After a design was chosen, components for that specific design were discussed with seasoned professionals to ensure components complemented each other efficiently.

According to Professor Godin Fischer, head of URI’s electrical engineering department, directly connecting a circuit to the motor would produce abundantly different results than recreating an electrical jump from circuit to motor. A piezoelectric device was introduced to allow that jump, which was later replaced with components of a bug zapper for simplicity, an idea hitched from Professor Nassersharif. As the project progressed, the circuit evolved and simplified. Step up relays were added and removed, more efficient components were discovered, and the coding towards the brains of the circuits, Arduinos, was constantly developed and revised to match.

The final iteration of the circuits involve DC Power Generators, 2 channel solid state relays to switch on and off the circuit rapidly, Arduinos programmed to control the relays, the components of a bug zapper to allow for jumping to the motor, the motor mount, the motor itself, and standalone prebuilt test dishes with spin counters, courtesy of KVH.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, testing of the final circuits were delayed. However, the assemblies are ready to be tested at any allowable future time. With adequate testing space, usage of the circuits should be easy due to the design of the product. Simple instructions and the circuits themselves will be delivered to KVH facilities to allow for testing. The experiment 2 should allow for confirmation as to whether static discharge or stray current are the cause of KVH VSAT device failure in its field of work.

Comments

Sponsor: KVH Industries

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