LightningStrikeDetector

Team5
JustinBauer
AdamMcHale
MattClary
DeAndreDawson
ZonghengPu

Introduction

Ineveryresearchprojectorexperimentitisverycommontohavedesignissues.

Someissuesmayresultindirectinjury,fallinfinancialstability,orsimplycauseyour
projecttobecomefaulty.ThisissuepaperwillcoverafewissuestheLightningStrike
Detectordesignteamranintoormayrunintomovingforwardinthedevelopmentofthe
project.TheseissueswillcoverthelifecycleofourLightningStrikeDetector,itssafety,
anduniversaldesignimplications.Understandingandbeingabletoidentifytheseissues
canresultinbetterdevelopmentandprojectionsforourproject.

ProjectLifecycleManagement

Design
TheLightningStrikeDetectorusestwoanalogcircuitstodetectandamplifya
lightningstrikesignal.Thelightningboltwillstrikeagroundingrodonabuildinginitiating
acurrenttoground.Thiscurrentwillproduceamagneticfieldaroundtherod.The
LightningStrikeDetectorcircuitwilluseaninductortoconvertthisexternalmagnetic

fieldintoanelectricalsignal.Thiselectricalsignalisthenamplifiedtoauseablelevel
throughaninstrumentationamplifier.Theamplifiedsignalisnowaninputtoaoneshot
multivibratorcircuit,whosepurposeistoincreasethepulsewidth.Thepulsewidthis
thenlargeenoughtobedetectedbyanArduinomicrocontroller.WechosetheArduino
becauseOneissuewiththisdesignisthepossibilityofamisfireduetoastrong
magneticfieldotherthanfromlightning.Futureimprovementscouldincludeadifferent
sensingelement,suchasaphotodetector,sothatmisfireswillnotoccur.A
photodetectorcouldbeusedtoindicatewhenastrongpulseoflight,suchasfroma
lightningstrike,ispresent.Thisalongsidethemagneticfieldsensorwillbothprovide
inputstoanANDlogiccircuit.Thisapproachwillonlycountastrikeifbothconditions
aremet.

Production
ThecostperLightningStrikeDetectorunitasdesignedis$41.10.Mostofthis
costcomesfromtheArduinoUNOandLCDscreen,allotting$34.02tothetotalcost.
Theseexpensescomefromessentialrequirementsprovidedbythecustomer.
Productiontimeofthisdeviceisrelativelyshortevenforsmallworkteamsoffive
persons,allowingseveraltobemadedaily.Also,thetestingofeachfinishedproduct
canbedonebywavingamagnetbythedevice.Thiswillsimulatethemagneticfield
duetoalightningstrike.Thissimpletestwilleliminatethesaleofdamagedor
nonfunctionalproducts.Wearemindfulofthecostspecificationof$25setbythe
customer.Weareconfidentthatwitheconomiesofscaleourdesigneffectivelymeets
thistarget.Further,futurechangescouldbemadetoreducetheoveralldevicecost
evenmore.SinceonlythemicrocontrolleroftheArduinoUNOboardisusedinthis
design,furthercostsavingsmaybeeffectedusingonlythemicrocontroller.The
onboardmicrocontrolleristheATmega328.Thecostofthisisonly$1.63comparedto
theArduinoUNOboardwhichis$19.01.Thiswouldsignificantlycutcostsandthefinal
productwillbe$23.72,notconsideringeconomiesofscale.

Distribution
Choosingthecorrectdistributionbalanceiscrucialtoaproductbetweentime
andbudgetaryconstraints.Thesetwofactorsareveryimportanttothedesignteams
decision.Thereareseveralsubgroupsthatmustbeconsidered.Thefirstoneisthe
transportationcostandtime.Dependingonthemodeoftransport,theurgencyofthe
shipmentandsizeoftheproduct,thecostandtimemayvarytosomeextent.Sinceour
productissmallandrelativelylight,thefirsttwofactorsplayalargerolehere.The
secondoneistheinventory.Unlikeanyperishablegroceryproductslikemilkormeat,
thedetectingdevicecanbestoredininventoryforalongtimeevenduringshipment.
NextisthesalesnetworkoftheLightningStrikeDetector.Thesalesnetworkconsistsof
businessownersthathaveimportantdatathatcanbesubjecttodamageorlossduring
alightningstrike.Tofurtherexpandthisnetworkthedesignteamwillresearchother
commercialapplicationsofthedevice.Oneapplicationcouldmeasurethemagnitudeof
alightningstrikewhilestillcountingandrecordingthedateandtime.

Consumption
Oncetheproductisdeliveredtothecustomer,thedevicemustbecontinuedto
bemonitored.Therearemanysubgroupsrelatedtoconsumption.Customertrainingis
thefirstonethatistakenintoconsideration.Eventhoughalightingstrikeisvery
dangerous,theLightningStrikeDetectorissafe.Allthecustomerneedstodoissend
someonetorecordandresetthedeviceeverymonthoreveryyearThiswilldependon
thefrequencyoflightningstrikesattheirlocation.Thenextistherepairand
maintenanceofthedevice.Lightningmaydestroyorcausesomedamagetothedevice.
Thus,customersupportwillbeofferedthroughtheproductwebsite.Ifthereisa
problem,theycaneithercallorsendaticketabouttheissue.Atechnicianwillhelpthem
withtheproblem.Asforsparepartsthemaingoalistokeepourdeviceworkingwellfor
alongperiodoftime.Batteriesandreplaceableinductorsaretheonlycomponentsthat

areeasilyinterchangeable.Thismaychangedependingoncustomerfeedback.Also,
upgradingtheproductisanimportantissue.Futureideasanddevelopmentmayleadto
upgradeswithinthedesignofthedesign.Thiswillallowforaupgradeplandepending
onnecessity.Thefinalsubgroupisenergyuse.Futureimprovementswillincludea
solarcellbatterythatcouldrechargeitselfandeliminatetheneedtoreplacebatteries.

Retirement
Customersupportisthebiggestfactortodiscussundertheretirementissue.To
improvecustomersupprta1yearwarrantycanbeofferedalongwithalifetimesupport
program.Ifthereisgoingtobeanupgradeplan,itwillbeannouncedinthewebsiteand
atradeinplanmaybeintroducedaswell.Also,itissuggestedtorecycleanddisposal
oftheproductproperly.Thiscanbedonebyfollowinglocallawsortradinginthedevice
tousforafutureupgradeorpartialreimbursement.

ProductSafety
Onaverage,alightningstrikecangeneratearound30kAofcurrent.Becauseof
thishighvalue,itisimpossiblefortheteamtoaccuratelysimulatealightningstrike
throughanyavailablemeans.Duetothis,andthefactthatitisimpossibletotellexactly
whereandwhenlightningwillstrike,itwasdifficulttodevelopasafeandeffectiveway
totestthefunctionalityofourprototypeanditssafeuse.Inordertosimulatealightning
surgeorpulse,theteamhadaccesstobothaVandeGraaffgeneratorandaTeslacoil.
Whileboththesemachinesoperateatamuchlowervoltagethanactuallightning,they
arestillcapableofgeneratingahighenoughvoltagetopotentiallybeharmfultoany
electronicsorpeopleinthearea.
Tocombatthisissuetheteamhastakenavarietyofprecautionswheneverany
testsneededtobedone.BoththeVandeGraaffgeneratorandtheTeslacoilpresent
theriskofanelectricarcformingbetweenthemachineandanynearbyelectronics.The
VandeGraaffgeneratoroperatesatalowervoltagethantheTeslacoil,andtheriskof

themachinearcingtoanearbypersonisminimal.However,itcanstillgenerateenough
currenttodamageanyelectronicsinthearea.DuetothisitisimportanttokeeptheVan
deGraaffgeneratorasafedistanceawayfromanyelectronicsthatcouldpotentiallybe
damaged.Itisalsoimportanttodischargetheinducedchargesonthemachineafter
disconnectingpower,assuchchargehasthepotentialtodischargebyarcingtoany
nearbyconductors.
AlltherisksthatarepresentwiththeVandeGraaffgeneratorarealsopresent
withtheTeslacoil.However,theTeslacoiloperatesatamuchhighervoltageandis
capableofgeneratingmuchhighercurrentsthantheVandeGraaffgenerator.Because
ofthisitismoreimportanttocontrolwheretheTeslacoilwillarctoensurethesafetyof
anyelectronicsintheroom.Asanextraprecautionnobodyshouldbeinthesameroom
astheTeslacoilwhileitisoperationalandallobservationsshouldbemadefromafar.
Tomakesurethateverythinggoesaccordingtoplan,afacultysupervisorshouldalso
alwaysbepresentwhenanyTeslacoiltestingisconducted.
Buildingthedevicepresentslittletonorisktotheuser.Becausethedeviceis
batterypowered,theuserwilloccasionallyberequiredtoreplacethebatterieswhen
theyrunlow.Thiscanpresentasmallriskofelectricshock,aswhendealingwithany
kindofelectronics.Whilethevoltageandcurrentofthedeviceshouldbesmall,theuser
shouldbeawareitisstillenoughtoslightlyhurtorstartlethem.

UniversalDesignImplications
Thelightningstrikedetectorhastheconvenienceofbeingsufficientlyusefultoa
widerangeofcustomers.Becausethestrikedetectorsoperandislightning,auniversal
conditionratherthanamorespecificevent,itcanbeappliedtocustomerswithvarying
intentsofdatastorageorelectronicdeviceusage.Regardlessofthetypeofelectrical
equipmentthatacustomerisdeterminedtoprotect,thestrikedetectorisabledetecta
lightningstrikeincloseenoughproximitytoimpacttheequipment.

Somecustomersmaywishtocoveralargerplotofareathanwhatwasoriginally
intendedinthepurposeofthelightningstrikedetector.Becausethestrikedetectoris
designedtoonlyidentifylightningstrikesthatoccurwitharadiuscloseenoughtopose
harmtonearbyelectronicequipment,Itispossibleforastriketooccuratadistancefar
fromtheplacementofthestrikedetector,butcloseenoughinproximitytoelectrical
equipmenttocauseharm.Thesolutiontothiswouldbetheplacementofmultiplestrike
detectorsdispersedinawaythatleavesanyvulnerableequipmentintheradiusofat
leastonedetector.Fortunately,thisisfeasibleduetotherelativelylowcostofthe
lightningstrikedetectorincomparisontotheexpectedelectricalequipment.
Sincethestrikedetectormustbepositionednearthelocationofanyequipment
theuserintendstoprotect,thedetectorwillbeinthesameclimate.Duetoitsmaterial
composition,thelightningstrikeisnotvulnerabletomoderatevariationsonexternal
temperature.Barringanyextremedifferencesintemperature,thedetectordoesnotlose
functionality.Additionally,thedetectorpossessesacasingthatpreventsany
componentsbeingharmedfromrainfall.

Conclusion

Theabilitytoidentifydesignissuessignificantlyhelpsthesuccessoftheproject.
Inthisprojectthedesignteamwasabletorecognizedseveraldesignissuesthatcould
beimproveduponimmediatelyorsometimeinthefuture.Theareaswhereissueswere
identifiedincludeprojectlifecyclemanagement,productsafetyanduniversaldesign
implications.Projectlifecyclemanagementidentifiedissueswithdesign,production,
distribution,consumptionandretirement.Issuesrelatedtodistribution,consumptionand
retirementwillnotbeaddresseduntilafinalproductisproduced.Productsafetyissues
dealtwiththetestingofthedevice.Whendealingwithhighvoltageequipmentitcanbe
verydangerous,especiallydealingwithhighpowerteslacoilsandVandeGraaff
generators.

Finally,duringthedesignoftheLightningStrikeDetector,thebiggestissueto
facewasbeingabletocoverwiderangefieldswithourdevice.Thisissueshasalso
beenaccommodatedforthroughresearchandproperlychoosingwhichcomponentswill
producethedesiredresults.