Materials Testing System with Improved Component Cooling

Abstract

One exemplary materials testing machine includes a first crosshead, a first drive shaft configured to move the first crosshead when actuated, a housing with an air inlet and an air outlet, a drive motor within the housing and configured to actuate the first drive shaft, a motor drive circuit configured to provide power to the drive motor, and a motor drive cooling system configured to cool the motor drive circuit, the motor drive cooling system including a cooling fan configured to generate an air flow from an air inlet of the housing to an air outlet of the housing, wherein a total surface area of ​​the air outlet is greater than a total surface area of ​​the air inlet, and an air pressure of the air flow decreases from the air inlet to the air outlet, a duct configured to direct a path of the air flow between the air inlet and the air outlet, and a heat sink thermally coupled to the motor drive circuit and positioned within the air flow in the duct.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Field of Disclosure This disclosure relates generally to materials testing, and more particularly to a materials testing system with improved cooling of components. [Background technology]

[0002] background Universal testing machines are used to perform mechanical tests, such as compressive or tensile strength tests, on materials or components. Such testing machines may use motors and electric motor drive circuits that generate large amounts of power or torque. Thus, the electric motor drive circuits may generate significant heat during operation. Summary of the Invention

[0003] overview A materials testing system with improved cooling of components is disclosed substantially as illustrated by and described with reference to at least one of the drawings and as more fully set forth in the claims.

[0004] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters represent like parts throughout. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example testing device for performing mechanical property testing, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0006] [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of the test device of FIG. 1.

[0007] [Diagram 3]FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of an exemplary housing for a component of the testing device of FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0008] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates an example motor drive circuit and motor drive circuit cooling system installed within the housing of FIG.

[0009] [Diagram 5] 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the example motor drive circuit cooling system of FIG. 4 illustrating an example airflow through the motor drive circuit cooling system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Detailed Description The drawings are not necessarily to scale and, where appropriate, like or identical reference numbers are used to refer to like or identical components.

[0011] Conventional materials testing systems include electronics, such as high power servo motor drives or power amplifiers, that generate significant heat. Additionally, such electronics may be sensitive to the introduction of various types of dust, particles, and / or other airborne contaminants. Although seals in the cooling system may prevent such dust or particles from entering the volume housing the electronics from the cooling system, such seals may be expensive and / or introduce design complexity.

[0012] The disclosed exemplary material testing system includes a forced air cooling system that cools heat-generating components without requiring sealing of the cooling system while reducing or eliminating the introduction of dust or contaminants from the cooling system to the electronics. In the disclosed exemplary material testing system, the cooling system includes a duct attached to the housing, the duct defining a cooling path between an air inlet in the housing and an air outlet in the housing. In some examples, the air inlet faces downward so that dust and contaminants cannot easily settle in the air inlet, and the air inlet is unlikely to collect dust unless the dust is airborne. The dust or contaminants that are most problematic for electronic components, such as metal scales and / or conductive fibers, are generally heavy and tend to settle downward. The downward air inlet of the disclosed examples reduces or prevents heavier dust or particles from being sucked into the air inlet.

[0013] In the disclosed example, the surface area is greater at the air outlet than at the air inlet. The increased surface area creates a pressure drop rather than a pressure increase in the air flow path from the air inlet to the air outlet. The pressure drop allows dust that enters the air inlet to more easily escape through the exhaust air than through unsealed gaps in the duct if the duct is not sealed.

[0014] The disclosed exemplary materials testing system further includes a heat sink thermally coupled to the electronic components to be cooled, and an airflow path across the heat sink in the cooling system is enclosed within a thermally conductive duct that can be positioned such that the airflow path is substantially isolated from the remainder of the electronic components of the system, so that any airborne dust that is accidentally drawn into the intake is harmlessly exhausted out the exhaust without coming into contact with other components of the materials testing system.

[0015] The disclosed example materials testing system is described below with respect to cooling the motor drive circuitry, however, the example cooling systems disclosed in this disclosure may also or alternatively be used to cool other circuits while limiting the ingress of dust or contaminants into the housing or frame of the materials testing system.

[0016] As used in this disclosure, "crosshead" refers to a component of a materials testing system that applies directional (axial) and / or rotational forces to a specimen. A materials testing system can have one or more crossheads, and the crosshead(s) can be positioned in any suitable position and / or orientation in the materials testing system.

[0017] An exemplary materials testing machine disclosed includes a first crosshead, a first drive shaft configured to move the first crosshead when actuated, a housing with an air inlet and an air outlet, a drive motor within the housing and configured to actuate the first drive shaft, a motor drive circuit configured to provide power to the drive motor, and a motor drive cooling system configured to cool the motor drive circuit, the motor drive cooling system including a cooling fan configured to generate an air flow from an air inlet of the housing to an air outlet of the housing, wherein a total surface area of ​​the air outlet is greater than a total surface area of ​​the air inlet, and an air pressure of the air flow decreases from the air inlet to the air outlet, a duct configured to direct a path of the air flow between the air inlet and the air outlet, and a heat sink thermally coupled to the motor drive circuit and positioned within the air flow in the duct.

[0018] In some exemplary materials testing machines, the air inlet is positioned downward to draw air from below the air inlet. In some exemplary materials testing machines, the duct is not sealed to the rest of the interior of the housing. In some exemplary materials testing machines, the air inlet and air outlet are oriented at an angle between 0 degrees and 135 degrees.

[0019] In some example materials testing machines, a cooling fan is positioned directly adjacent to the air inlet to draw air through the air inlet. In some example materials testing machines, the motor drive circuitry is physically connected to the heat sink through one or more thermally conductive layers. In some example materials testing machines, the one or more thermally conductive layers include a duct.

[0020] In some example materials testing machines, the duct is configured to physically support the motor drive circuitry within the housing. In some example materials testing machines, the first crosshead, the first drive shaft, and the drive motor are configured to perform at least one of a compressive strength test, a tensile strength test, a shear strength test, a bending strength test, a flexure strength test, a tear strength test, a peel strength test, or a torsion strength test on a sample coupled to the first crosshead.

[0021] 1 illustrates an example material testing system 100 for performing mechanical property tests. The example material testing system 100 can be, for example, a universal testing system capable of static mechanical tests. The material testing system 100 can perform, for example, compressive strength tests, tensile strength tests, shear strength tests, flexural strength tests, flexural strength tests, tear strength tests, peel strength tests (e.g., adhesive bond strength), torsional strength tests, and / or any other compressive and / or tensile tests. Additionally or alternatively, the material testing system 100 can perform dynamic tests.

[0022] The example materials testing system 100 includes a testing apparatus 102 and a computing device 104 communicatively coupled to the testing apparatus 102. The testing apparatus 102 applies a load to a material under test 106 and measures a mechanical property of the test, such as a displacement of the material under test 106 and / or a force applied to the material under test 106. The example testing apparatus 102 is shown as a dual column apparatus, although other apparatuses, such as a single column testing apparatus, may be used.

[0023] The example computing device 104 can be used to configure the test apparatus 102, control the test apparatus 102, and / or receive measurement data (e.g., transducer measurements such as force and displacement) and / or test results (e.g., peak force, break displacement, etc.) from the test apparatus 102 for processing, displaying, reporting, and / or any other desired purpose.

[0024] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of the materials testing system 100 of Figure 1. The exemplary materials testing system 100 of Figure 2 includes a test apparatus 102 and a computing device 104. The exemplary computing device 104 can be a general purpose computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile device, a server, an all-in-one computer, and / or any other type of computing device.

[0025] The exemplary computing device 104 of FIG. 2 includes a processor 202. The exemplary processor 202 can be any general-purpose central processing unit (CPU) from any manufacturer. In some other examples, the processor 202 can include one or more special-purpose processing units, such as a RISC processor with an ARM core, a graphics processing unit, a digital signal processor, and / or a system on a chip (SoC). The processor 202 executes machine-readable instructions 204, which can be stored locally at the processor (e.g., in an internal cache or on the SoC), in a random access memory 206 (or other volatile memory), in a read-only memory 208 (or other non-volatile memory, such as flash memory), and / or in a mass storage device 210. The exemplary mass storage device 210 can be a hard drive, a solid-state storage drive, a hybrid drive, a RAID array, and / or any other mass data storage device.

[0026] The bus 212 allows communication between the processor 202 , the RAM 206 , the ROM 208 , the mass storage device 210 , the network interface 214 , and / or the input / output interface 216 .

[0027] The example network interface 214 includes hardware, firmware, and / or software that connects the computing device 104 to a communications network 218, such as the Internet. For example, the network interface 214 may include IEEE 202.X compliant wireless and / or wired communications hardware for transmitting and / or receiving communications.

[0028] The example I / O interface 216 of FIG. 2 includes hardware, firmware, and / or software that couples one or more input / output devices 220 to the processor 202 to provide input to and / or output from the processor 202. For example, the I / O interface 216 can include an image processing device that interfaces with a display device, a Universal Serial Bus port that interfaces with one or more USB-compliant devices, FireWire, Fieldbus, and / or any other type of interface. The example materials testing system 100 includes a display device 224 (e.g., an LCD screen) coupled to the I / O interface 216. Other example I / O device(s) 220 can include a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a trackball, a pointing device, a microphone, an audio speaker, a display device, an optical media drive, a multi-touch touch screen, a gesture recognition interface, a magnetic media drive, and / or any other type of input and / or output device.

[0029] The example computing device 104 can access non-transitory machine-readable medium 222 via I / O interface 216 and / or I / O device(s) 220. Examples of machine-readable medium 222 in FIG. 2 include optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs), digital versatile / video disks (DVDs), Blu-ray® disks, etc.), magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks), portable storage media (e.g., portable flash drives, secure digital (SD) cards, etc.), and / or any other type of removable and / or installed machine-readable medium.

[0030] The example materials testing system 100 of Figure 1 further includes a test instrument 102 coupled to a computing device 104. In the example of Figure 2, the test instrument 102 is coupled to the computing device via an I / O interface 216, such as a USB port, a Thunderbolt port, a FireWire (IEEE 1394) port, and / or any other type of serial or parallel data port. In some other examples, the test instrument 102 is coupled to the network interface 214 and / or the I / O interface 216 via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.), either directly or via a network 218.

[0031] The testing apparatus 102 of FIG. 2 includes a frame 228, a load cell 230, a displacement transducer 232, a cross-member loader 234, a material fixture 236, a control processor 238, and motor drive circuitry 240. The frame 228 provides rigid structural support for the other components of the testing apparatus 102 that perform the tests. The load cell 230 measures the force applied by the cross-member loader 234 through the grips 236 to the material being tested. The cross-member loader 234 applies the force to the material being tested while the material fixture 236 (also referred to as the grips) grips or otherwise couples the material being tested to the cross-member loader 234. The exemplary cross-member loader 234 includes a motor 242 (or other actuator) and a crosshead 244. A crosshead 244 couples the material fixture 236 to the frame 228, and a motor 242 moves the crosshead relative to the frame to position the material fixture 236 and / or apply forces to the material being tested. Exemplary actuators that may be used to provide force and / or motion to the components of the materials testing system 100 include electric motors, pneumatic actuators, hydraulic actuators, piezoelectric actuators, relays, and / or switches. Motor drive circuitry 240 is controlled by a control processor 238 to provide power to the motor 242 based on control inputs and / or parameters.

[0032] Exemplary grips 236 include compression platens, jaws, or other types of fixtures depending on the mechanical property being tested and / or the material being tested. Grips 236 may be manually configured, controlled via manual input, and / or automatically controlled by control processor 238. Crosshead 244 and grips 236 are operator accessible components.

[0033] The example control processor 238 communicates with the computing device 104, for example, to receive test parameters from the computing device 104 and / or report measurements and / or other results to the computing device 104. For example, the control processor 238 may include one or more communications or I / O interfaces that enable communication with the computing device 104. The control processor 238 may control the cross member loader 234 to increase or decrease the applied force, control the fixture(s) 236 to grip or release the material under test, and / or receive measurements from the displacement transducers 232, load cells 230, and / or other transducers.

[0034] 2 may further include one or more control panels 250 including buttons, switches, and / or other input devices located on the operator control panel. For example, the mode switch 254 may include a button that controls the motor 242 to jog (e.g., position) the crosshead 244 to a particular position on the frame 228, and / or a switch (e.g., a foot switch) that controls the grip actuator 246 to open or close the pneumatic grip 248, and / or other input devices to select parameters for the material test.

[0035] The example motor 242 is connected to the crosshead 244 via one or more drive shafts 252. The motor 242 actuates the drive shafts 252 based on power provided by the motor drive circuitry 240 to, for example, raise and lower the crosshead 244. The crosshead 244 may be further stabilized by one or more other shafts or structures that apply force to the sample in a controlled manner.

[0036] Figure 3 illustrates a portion of an example housing 300 of a component of test system 100 of Figures 1 and 2. The example housing 300 may implement all or a portion of frame 228 of Figure 2 and / or any other frame or housing of test system 100. The example housing includes an air inlet 302 and an air outlet 304. Air inlet 302 may be sized and / or shaped to have an intake cooling fan mounted adjacent to air inlet 302.

[0037] As shown in Figure 3, the air outlet 304 has a larger surface area than the air inlet 302. An intake cooling fan is positioned adjacent to the air inlet 302, and as a result of the increased surface area from the air inlet 302 to the air outlet 304, pressurization of the air flow drops from the air inlet 302 towards the air outlet 304. The air inlet 302 and air outlet 304 are configured at a 90 degree angle in the example of Figure 3. However, the air inlet and air outlet 304 can be positioned at any angle between 0 degrees (e.g., the air outlet is also facing downward relative to the housing 300) and 135 degrees.

[0038] Figure 4 illustrates an example motor drive circuit 400 and motor drive circuit cooling system 402 installed within the housing 300 of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the example motor drive circuit cooling system 402 of Figure 4 illustrating an example airflow through the motor drive circuit cooling system 402. The example motor drive circuit 400 can implement the motor drive circuitry 240 of Figure 2 to drive one or more motors 242 and / or other actuators.

[0039] 4 and 5, the motor drive circuit cooling system 402 includes a duct 404 that, in combination with the housing 300, directs an air flow 406 from the air inlet 302 to the air outlet 304. In the example of Figures 4 and 5, the duct 404 is not sealed or completely sealed to the housing 300. A cooling fan 408 is attached or mounted to the housing 300 adjacent the air inlet 302 to draw air into the air inlet 302 to generate the air flow 406.

[0040] A heat sink 410 is mounted within the duct 404 and an airflow 406 is directed to cool the heat sink 410. The heat sink 410 is thermally coupled to the motor drive circuit 400 via the duct 404. The duct 404 and / or the housing of the motor drive circuit 400 are constructed using a thermally conductive material such as aluminum, copper, or any other thermally conductive material. In some examples, there may be an additional thermally conductive layer between the motor drive circuit 400 and the heat sink. The thermally conductive layer may be coupled in series with the duct 404 and / or may provide a parallel thermal path to the duct 404. In the examples of FIGS. 4 and 5, the duct 404 provides at least partial structural support for the motor drive circuit 400 and the heat sink 410, and the motor drive circuit 400 transfers heat to the heat sink 410 via the duct 404. The motor drive circuit 400 may also be at least partially supported by the housing 300.

[0041] 5, the housing 300 includes feet 502 or other spacing structure that provide clearance between the downward air inlet 302 and the surface on which the housing 300 is placed. The feet 502 allow adequate air to be drawn through the air inlet 302 via the cooling fan 408. In some instances, the feet 502 provide sufficient clearance between the air inlet 302 and the surface such that the air inlet flow 504 (e.g., the flow provided by the cooling fan 408) cannot or is unlikely to draw problematic contaminants, such as metal scale and / or conductive fibers, from the surface into the air inlet 302.

[0042] The method and system can be implemented in hardware, software, and / or a combination of hardware and software. The method and / or system can be implemented in a centralized manner in at least one computing system, or in a distributed manner where different elements are distributed across several interconnected computing systems. Any kind of computing system or other device adapted to perform the methods described in this disclosure is suitable. A typical combination of hardware and software can include a general-purpose computing system, with a program or other code that, when loaded and executed, controls the computing system to perform the methods described in this disclosure. Another typical embodiment can include an application-specific integrated circuit or chip. Some embodiments can include a non-transitory machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium (e.g., flash drive, optical disk, magnetic storage disk, etc.), which stores one or more lines of code executable by a machine, thereby causing the machine to perform the processes as described in this disclosure. As used in this disclosure, the term "non-transitory machine-readable medium" is defined to include all types of machine-readable storage media and to exclude propagating signals.

[0043] As used in this disclosure, the terms "circuitry" and "circuitry" refer to physical electronic components (i.e., hardware) and any software and / or firmware ("code") that may comprise, be executed by, and / or otherwise be associated with hardware. As used in this disclosure, a particular processor and memory, for example, may include a first "circuitry" when executing a first one or more lines of code, and may include a second "circuitry" when executing a second one or more lines of code. As used in this disclosure, "and / or" refers to any one or more of the items in the list linked by "and / or". As an example, "x and / or y" refers to any element of the triplet {(x),(y),(x,y)}. In other words, "x and / or y" means "one or both of x and y". As another example, "x, y, and / or z" means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x,y), (x,z), (y,z), (x,y,z)}. In other words, "x, y, and / or z" means "one or more of x, y, and z." As used in this disclosure, the term "exemplary" is meant to serve as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. As used in this disclosure, the term "for example" begins a list of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations. As used in this disclosure, whenever circuitry includes the necessary hardware and code (if any is necessary) to perform a function, the circuitry is "operable" to perform that function, regardless of whether implementation of that function is disabled or enabled (e.g., by a user-configurable setting, factory trim, etc.).

[0044] Although the method and / or system have been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the method and / or system. For example, blocks and / or components of the disclosed examples may be combined, divided, rearranged, and / or otherwise modified. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the method and / or system is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Instead, the method and / or system includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims, both literally and under the doctrine of equivalents.

Claims

[Claim 1] A materials testing machine, a first crosshead; a first drive shaft configured to move the first crosshead when actuated; a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet; a drive motor within the housing configured to actuate the first drive shaft; a motor drive circuit configured to provide power to the drive motor; a motor drive cooling system configured to cool the motor drive circuit, a cooling fan configured to generate an air flow from the air inlet of the housing to the air outlet of the housing, the total surface area of the air outlet being greater than the total surface area of the air inlet such that air pressure of the air flow decreases from the air inlet to the air outlet; a duct configured to direct the path of the air flow between the air inlet and the air outlet; a heat sink thermally coupled to the motor drive circuitry and positioned within the airflow in the duct; a motor drive cooling system comprising: A material testing machine comprising:

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