Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

With the proliferation of electrical/electronic systems in vehicles, there has been an increased emphasis on electromagnetic compatibility as well as validation of the environmental protection means of electronic and electromechanical assemblies. It has been well-established that severe component level failures that have catastrophic results at the system level can result from failures due to shortcomings in the environmental protection means and electromagnetic compatibility. Consequently, test plans for products used in the transportation sector in recent years have been enhanced to include extensive EMC and environmental test schedules. Fanshawe College is requesting ARTI support for four pieces of equipment to enhance research and improve its product validation capabilities for the land, air and ground transportation sectors. These items are: an electrostatic discharge gun; transient pulse generator; arbitrary wave form generation; and a salt spray chamber. The first three items are intended to expand the College's EMC tool inventory and, if acquired, will complement existing equipment possessed by the college that has been used to perform conducted emissions testing and mitigation strategy development on automotive and consumer products. The salt spray chamber will be useful to a number of sectors. The capital costs of equipment and test time associated with these test schedules can be cost-prohibitive to many small to medium sized enterprises, or smaller divisions of larger concerns. Notwithstanding, equipment accessibility can be a barrier to marketplace entry for many enterprises where test equipment of this nature is required. Acquisition of this equipment will help Fanshawe College better meet the needs of SMEs and startup companies.