-2Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

-3Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

Summary
This document contains the Hardware Design Documentation (HDD) of the NTC Acquisition
Unit This HDD contains design information about all hardware specially designed for this
device.

OPERATING AND SAFETY SYMBOLS

Symbols used on the Instrument and in the manual

Instruction manual symbol affixed to product. Warns and cautions the

user to refer to respective manual procedures to avoid personal injury
or possible damage to the instrument.

Affixed to the instrument which contains static sensitive devices. Use

anti-static handling procedures to prevent electrostatic
discharge damage to components.

IMPORTANT:

Calls attention to a procedure, practice or condition that requires special attention by

the user.

CAUTION:

Calls attention to a procedure, practice or condition that could possibly cause

damage to the instrument.

WARNING:

Calls attention to a procedure, practice or condition that could possibly cause bodily
injury or death.

IMPORTANT:
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice

-4Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

Contents

Introduction

1.1

Product identification

1.2

Purpose of the product

Maintenance NTC controller board

2.1

WARNING:

2.2

General

2.2.1

Declaration of Conformity NTC Hub and Ethernet controller

Overall hardware design

3.1

Ethernet controller board.

3.2

NTC acquisition unit.

3.3

Description

3.4

Control and Measurement mechanism

3.4.1

Schematic diagram

11

3.4.2

Construction

11

3.4.3

Specification

12

3.4.4

Schematic diagram

12

3.4.5

Construction

12

3.4.6

Cabling

13

3.4.7

Component list

13

3.4.8

Thermal design

13

(15 pages in total)

-5Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

1 Introduction
This document contains the Hardware Design Documentation (HDD) of the ILST NTC
Acquisition Unit. This HDD contains design information about all hardware specially designed
for this device. For information concerning standard parts used in this project, see supplier
delivered documentation.

1.1

Product identification

System number

: AS064

System name

: ILST DAS-bus upgrade to Ethernet

1.2

Purpose of the product

The ILST NTC acquisition unit can be used to measure the average wind speed.
A single NTC unit can maximally acquire data from 48 NTCs.

-6Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

2 Maintenance NTC controller board

2.1

WARNING:

The NTC Hub contains an embedded computer and a power supply, which are procured from a

general supplier. For safety reasons it is important that the user is aware of the safety related
information of the supplier documentation. In this document only safety related information and
maintenance instructions concerning the NLR developed products are given.
IMPORTANT:

For maintenance instructions of apparatus of other suppliers, please refer to the relevant supplier
documentation.
2.2

General
CAUTION:

CONTROL OF ELECTRO STATIC DISCHARGE (ESD)

Static-safe handling and servicing of electronic components and assemblies
is strongly recommended
All solid-state devices can be damaged by static electricity
Basic static damage preventive methods are:
1. Wear a wrist-strap. Remember to put it on and connect to ground before beginning work.
2. Work only on a grounded conductive surface or mat. DO NOT insulate work from the
conductive surface with bubble wrap, clear plastics, paper, or white or pink foam.
3. Keep all plain plastics and non-conductors out of your static-free area.
4. DO NOT allow ungrounded personnel to touch static devices or printed circuit boards.
5. Treat all components as if they are static-sensitive.
6. Transport all static-sensitive components and printed circuit boards in static shielded bags or
black conductive boxes.
7. Use only soldering irons that have grounded tips and zero-crossing heat controls to eliminate
EMI.
8. DO NOT use ohmmeters that have more than 25 Volts on their test leads. Always touch
ground first before probing the device.
9. Turn off power before removing the printed circuit board from the instrument. Be sure all test
equipment is grounded.
10. Use a conductive de-soldering device.
THE ULTIMATE RELIABILITY OF THE SYSTEM DEPENDS
ON HOW WELL THE BASIC RULES ARE FOLLOWED WHILE HANDLING AND SERVICING!!

-7Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

2.2.1

Declaration of Conformity NTC Hub and Ethernet controller

Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaartlaboratorium

National Aerospace Laboratory NLR

Manufacturers
Declaration of Conformity
PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION:
Product :
ILST DAS-bus upgrade to Ethernet.
Model:
DAS-bus to Ethernet converter, Part Number NLR-AS064
Ethernet controller, Part Number NLR-AS064
Units concerned:
Refer to TCF, Memorandum ASAQ-2013-xxx
MEANS OF CONFORMITY:
EMC Directive 89/336/EEG, 92/31/EEG, 93/68/EEG:
Power supplies:
Immunity standards: EN61000-6-2
Emission standards: EN61000-6-4
Low Voltage Directive 73/23/EEG and 93/68/EEG:
General Standard:
EN61010-1/A2, Safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement,
control and laboratory use.
Power supplies:
EN60950, Safety of IT equipment.
Technical construction File:
TCF prepared:
G. Camphorst
TCF number:
Memorandum ASAQ-2013-xxx
MANUFACTURER: National Aerospace Laboratory NLR
P.O Box 90502
1006 BM Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)20 511 3113
Fax: +31 (0)20 511 3210
We declare, under our sole responsibility, that the product described conforms with the requirements of
the EU- Directives; Low Voltage Directive 73/23/EEG and 93/68/EEG
EMC Directive 89/336/EEG, 92/31/EEG, 93/68/EEG
Date of issue:
Division:
Department:
Location:
Name:
Title of signatory:
Signature:

xx-11-2013
Aerospace Systems
ASAQ
Marknesse
T ter Meer
Project Manager ILST DAS-bus upgrade

NOTE:
Signed copy available

-8Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

3 Overall hardware design

The DAS-bus upgrade project as described in this document consists of the following activities:

Production of one Ethernet controller board.

Production of one NTC Acquisition Unit.

This document described the design of the Ethernet controller board and the NTC Hub.
This document also provides the complete production files for both the board and the NTC
Hub. The firmware for these devices is described in memorandum ASAQ-2013-XXX
3.1

Ethernet controller board.

The Ethernet controller board is designed as a multifunctional digital interface, and is provided
with an Ethernet 100Mbps link which will be connected to the data acquisition host system and
is software configurable. The controller board is provided with an embedded Toradex Colibri
SODIMM computer with Ethernet connection. The same board is also used in the Cu MkIII for
digital board replacement, and is applied in the DAS Hub for the Ethernet connection.
For an more detailed description of the Ethernet Controller board as applied in the NTC Hub,
NLR -Memorandum ASAQ-2013-015: ILST DAS-bus upgrade to Ethernet: DAS

Hub .

3.2

NTC acquisition unit.

The hardware to control the NTC device is based on the non-CU device (DAS-Hub)
hardware.. To make the unit capable to control the NTC units the following
modification will be performed to the non-CU hardware.
The major differences between the NTC Acquisition unit and the Das-Hub are:
Strobes: only 1 strobe will be applied instead of 8.
BCD/BIN: only the BCD bus will be available.
The BCD/ BIN switch will be removed from the front panel, the BCD/BIN
control will be fixed set to BCD.
1 2-wire step connector, Souriau 10-pol female will be added to the front panel

-9Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

3.3

Description

The NTC Acquisition unit is designed to measure the average wind speed.
One NTC unit can maximally acquire data from 48 NTC's. The measurement principle
is the following:

The unit measures the power required to keep an NTC at a certain temperature.

This power is a measure for the cooling of the NTC by the air flowing
over/around the NTC.

The cooling is proportional with the (average) speed of the airflow, and the
difference between the temperature of the air and the temperature of the NTC.

The effects of the temperature of the air is compensated for by performing a 2nd measurement at a different NTC temperature.

The set of two power measurements per NTC is presented as the measurement result.
This result is fed through a calibration to produce an airspeed value.

3.4

Control and Measurement mechanism

The NTC unit has two I/O channels:

1. A BCD DAS bus interface. The DAS bus interface can only be used to read a
measurement value from the NTC unit. The NTC unit does have some traces of
status word hardware; This hardware generates a status word that gives
information w.r.t. the local/remote setting of the NTC unit, and the
integration/averaging time selected (using the front-panel only..). The
integration time is most interesting, because it also indicates how long a
conversion with the NTC unit will take. Unfortunately, there is no way to read
the status word from the device.
2. A 2-wire scanner interface. The 2-wire scanner interface can be used for two
things:
o

to determine if the currently selected NTC is the 'number zero'. If that is

so then the 'home' signal of the scanner interface is active.

The scanner interface can be used to 'step' through the NTC channels.

Note that the 'scanner' part of the NTC unit is not a 'real scanner' in the sense of a
mechanical stepper: The 'scanning' element in the NTC unit is a TTL counter. For this

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description, the NTC unit will however be described in 'scanner' terms, because that is
how its functionality shows up externally.
The NTC unit has a fixed 'cycle' for performing measurements. This cycle corresponds
with 97 'scanner steps'. The reference point of the operation is the 'home' position of the
scanner. This is also the 'position' of the scanner when it is not being used to perform a
measurement.
The measurement cycle starts when the first step pulse is issued. The NTC's unit's
response to this pulse is the following:

It makes the NTC 1 the currently 'active' channel. That means that the data that
is read from the BCD DAS bus is the measurement value of NTC number 1
(subject to the remarks as described below..)

It starts heating all NTC's to the 'low' NTC temperature. There is a fixed 'settling'
time for this temperature transient.

When the (temperature) the settling time is expired, a measurement is

(automatically) started. This measurement means that the pulses from the
voltage-controlled-oscillators (VCO) of all 48 NTC's are counted in 48 counter
registers. The measurement time is called the integration time. This integration
time can (only..) be adjusted by means of the local (front) control panel of the
NTC unit. The integration time can be set to either 5, 10, 20 or 50 seconds.

During the temperature settling time and the measurement time, the bit 18 of the BCD
data that can be read from the NTC unit is '1'; meaning that a measurement value of >
20000 will be read from the device. Once the measurement is finished, the bit 18 of the
data is 'cleared', and the real measured number of VCO pulses counted in the register of
NTC 1 can be read from the NTC unit by means of the DAS bus.
Once the measurement for the low temperature is done, the measurement results of all
47 other NTCs can also be read from the NTC unit, by pulsing the scanner control
wires. Each pulse on the scanner control wires selects the next NTC count register,
which can subsequently be read using the DAS bus.
When reading the data from NTC 48 is finished, a next scanner pulse will initiate a
sequence of events that is very similar to the one caused by pulsing from the home
position to position '1':

The selected NTC 'channel' is again set at NTC 1.

The NTC's are heated to the 'high' temperature. A (different) temperature settling
time is taken into account so that the NTC's can stabilize at the new (high)
temperature.

-11Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

After the temperature settling time, the counter registers are reset, and the
number of pulses from the VCO's is measured for the integration time.

When that is done, the bit 18 of the data read from the NTC unit is cleared, and
it is again possible to read the number of pulses counted for NTC 1 by means of
the DAS bus.

As for the high temperature, here too the scanner control wires can be used to select
next NTC registers. This allows for all NTC 'high' temperature count values to be read.
After 47 more scan pulses, the NTC unit should be -once more- in the 'home' position.
A next measurement could be started by giving a scan pulse on the scanner interface.
As can be read from the previous description, the NTC unit is a bit of a 'one-trick-dog'.
It can measure up to 48 NTC channels, but the way it does that is quite fixed in the
hardware of the device. Also, the NTC unit is a quite 'slow' device: the temperature
settling times are in between 5 seconds and 25 seconds, the integration time is between
2 x 5 seconds and 2 x 50 seconds. The effective measurement time of this device is
roughly a few measurement per minute.

3.4.1

Schematic diagram

The schematic diagrams of the Ethernet controller board are available in:
NLR -Memorandum ASAQ-2013-015: Detailed Design Document of the DAS Hub
3.4.2

Construction

The Ethernet controller is constructed as an 8-layer Euro card of 100 x 160 mm. The board is
equipped with a 64 or 96 pol DIN connector and a RJ45 connector at the top. Components are
mounted on both sides using SMT techniques. The Colibri module is mounted horizontal like a
piggyback. The maximum component space at the bottom of the board is limited to 6 mm. The
maximum component space at the top is limited to 16 mm. For the lay-out of the board see
drawing see also NLR -Memorandum ASAQ-2013-015: Detailed Design Document of

the DAS Hub.

-12Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

connector used. The position of this switch will be used by the firmware to check if the correct
nonCU type is set by the Host.
3.4.3

Specification

Dimensions of unit:

263 x 482,2 x 43.6 mm (LxBxH)

Number of channels:

Type of DAS-bus:

BCD.

Power:

250V/50Hz ,

Power consumption:

9 Watt maximal

Temperature:

15oC to 25oC

Humidity:

20% up to 80%, non condensing.

Cleanliness:

at least visible clean.

3.4.4

Schematic diagram

The schematic AS016-C-200 represents the wiring between the Ethernet controller board and
the power supply, switches and connectors. For the schematics of the Ethernet controller board,
see NLR -Memorandum ASAQ-2013-015: Detailed Design Document of the DAS Hub.
3.4.5

Construction

As housing for the converter module, a standard aluminium housing as shown in figure 5.1 will
be used. This housing is provided with extruded sleeves to mount the Ethernet controller
Eurocard board and Bezels on both sides. One side is provided with a mains / filter / switch
entree, the other side contains one DAS-bus connector, one strobe connector, and one Souriau
connector.. The filter / switch also contain the main fuse. For the actual lay-out of the drawing
converter box see AS016-C-400.
Take care, first to remove the power connection before openings of this box !

Figure 5.1 Converter box housing

-13Memorandum ASAQ2013-017

3.4.6

Cabling

The converter box will be wired internally conform the schematic diagram AS016-C-200. For
the external cabling the existing DAS-bus cabling, strobe cabling and mains supply cabling can
be reused.
3.4.7

Component list
Component list xxx

Item

Description

Partnumber / Farnell

Manufacturer

1HE 19 housing series 180

32180011 / 1171722

BIM / Farnell

A1

Ethernet controller board

UN1

Power supply 240V/50Hz 5V/3A

PR1

Sub-D 37 Pol Female chassis

PR2

NLR
TML15105C/1242584

Traco / Farnell

5-Pol DIN connector female chassis

Farnell 181-4800

Lumberg

PR3

10 Pole Souriau 851 connector

851-00-

Souriau

PR5

Ethernet RJ45 dual connector

09452451102/1170278

Harting/Farnell

PR4

BNC connector isolated

13-28 / 1169702

Multicomp/Farnell

PR100

Mains Filter/switch/ fuse 240V / 2A

RIQ-0242-H2/1101086

Roxburgh/Farnell

SK1,2

Miniature toggle switch 1pol SP

7101SYZBE/957-4824

C&K

LE1-3

Panel LED 12V Green

19031251 / 1105216

CML / Farnell

3.4.8

Thermal design

The Converter box is a completely closed steel/aluminium box and not provided with forced
cooling provisions, however the bottom and top plates are provided with ventilation grooves.
The expected internal heat generation of the power supply and Ethernet converter box is
maximal 5 Watt and typical 1 Watt. This Heat is hand over to the air inside the box and finally
transferred to the walls of the box. The expected temperature rise inside the box shall be
minimal

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