Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics
ELEC120/ELEC123 –ELECTROMECHANICS AND MECHATRONICS
DESIGN ASSIGNMENT 2018-19 INSTRUCTIONS
Instructions:
For this design assignment you will be assuming the role of an engineer for the City Council. You have been asked to produce a report which details and evaluates current traffic detection methods, and recommends improvements which could be made (specifically in induction loop systems) to enhance the experience of bicycle users.
You should complete the Design Assignment Template with your own text where indicated and submit this document for assessment.
The deadline is 17.00 on Tuesday 2nd April. Submit electronically via VITAL -> ELEC120/ELEC123 -> Assessment -> Design Assignment. Late submissions will be penalised according to the standard University Policy.
Table 1:
You have to sketch the magnetic field lines for a section of induction loop shapes (drawn on computer or by hand are both acceptable) and a square loop is completed as an example. You are also asked to think about the magnetic field intensity in the third column – useful to identify any null spots where a bicycle would not be identified.
Table 2 and Table 3:
Using the Equation for an inductor, calculate the inductance of each loop when no vehicle is present using the specifications given in the table.
L = Inductance, H
µ0 = Permeability of free space, Hm-1
µr = Relative permeability
N = Number of turns
A = Cross-sectional area, m2
l = length of loop, m
You will need to think about what suitable values for each of these terms is.
I do not expect you to calculate each value manually! Use a MATLAB script and make the computer do the hard work for you.
References:
As this assignment contains research I would expect there to be at least 5 references in a report. Microsoft Word will do the hard work of formatting the references for you, so if you are unsure of how to do this research it.
Do not reference Wikipedia – I will subtract marks if you do this because it not necessarily a reliable source of information. You can look at Wikipedia, but use it to find links to other sources which will contain more information and then reference these.
Useful links for reading:
US Federal Highway Administration, “Traffic Detector Handbook” Third Edition, Volume I
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/operations/its/06108/index.cfm
Bicycling Education and Advocacy in North Carolina, “How to Turn Signals Green”
http://humantransport.org/ncbikeed/?page_id=37
Steven G. Goodridge, “Detection of Bicycles by Quadrupole Loops at Demand-Actuated Traffic Signals”
http://humantransport.org/ncbikeed/?page_id=44
KM March 2018