John Erringtons Engineering Design Website
Year 2: Electrical Engineering:
Simple electrical engineering projects; Project ideas:
Tuneable buzzer/ vibrator;
Weighing machine (load sensor);
Temperature measurement;
Current meter (electromagnetic);
Current meter (hot wire);
Electric generator;
Electric Motor;
Battery; Electric
Clock;
Barograph or seismograph
Why do we need to know about electricity?
Basic electric circuit theory 1: Charge, Current, Voltage, Resistance;
Power
Capacitance,
Polarized Capacitors,
Non-polarized capacitors
Inductance.
Important equations;
Kirchoff's laws;
Kirchoff's laws applied;
Demonstration of Kirchoffs laws
Applications;
Power supply;
5V power supply showing waveforms;
Wire gauges;
Getting rid of heat
Electricity is dangerous;
Supply connections and Earths;
Three phase electricity distribution;
Insulation, Earths, Fuses and Circuit Breakers;
1: Insulation protects people;
2: Fuses protect equipment;
3: Earths protect people .. If they are correctly wired!;
Circuit breakers (MCB's and RCCB's) RCCB's or RCD's;
Shock hazards;
Electric shock;
Current paths through your body;
Patient / operator safety;
Electrical safety outdoors
Coils, Motors, Generators and Transformers;
History of developments in electromagnetism;
Michael Faraday; George Clerk Maxwell;
Conductors carrying current generate a magnetic field.;
Electromagnets;
Magnetic field of a coil of wire;
Basic circuit;
Inductance of coil;
Permeability; Permeability of common materials;
Horseshoe electromagnet;
Relay, contactor, or buzzer;
Vibration annunciator;
Motor;
DC Machines (Motors & Generators);
Generator DC;
Generators DC (other types);
AC Generator (Alternator);
Transformer;
Transformer example
Passive components;
* Active components *;
Resistor colour code;
Capacitor codes;
Diodes;
Rectifiers;
Transistors;
Thyristors (SCR's)
Types of Materials;
Metals and Alloys;
Polymers;
Ceramics;
Microstructure of ceramics;
Properties of ceramics;
Organic materials;
Wood;
Composites
Types of stress;
Tensile strength and tensile modulus;
Three main groups of engineering composites;
Polymer matrix composites;
PMC Bulk material;
Reinforcement
Crack propagation in bulk reinforcement material;
Crack propagation in fiber reinforcement material;
Matrix and reinforcement combined;
Properties of PMC's;
Metal matrix composites;
Ceramic matrix composites;
Super hard coatings;
Nanostructured materials;
Fullerenes: Molecular structures of carbon;
Fullerene structures;
Applications of fullerenes;
Carbon nanotubes;
Aerogels;
Aerogels as insulators;
Facts about aerogels;
Applications of aerogels
