Lab-X Foundation 2014

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Research Intern Round II Questionnaire
Lab-X Foundation, Intern Me 2014
Instructions:
There are 3 groups in this questionnaire. We want to assess the quality of the students
solving this questionnaire. You can select group(s) which you want to solve. You are
welcome to solve any one or more or all groups that you can. Solving atleast one group is
mandatory. You can refer to textbooks and internet (including Fermilabs official site,
www.fnal.gov) for reference. However you CANNOT discuss or collaborate with other
students or faculty on the questions. Candidate would be disqualified if any such violations
are observed.
Group A: Electrical/Electronics Engineering
Group B: Mechanical Engineering
Group C: Computer Science Engineering
All groups carry equal weights.
Assessment: You can use scientific calculators. But your analysis must be clearly
explained. Exact solution is not important, but method of approach to the problem is. Even
if you cannot solve a problem completely, you can layout your ideas or approach. Use of
FEA, MCU, or simulation is not accepted for arriving at your solutions.
Based on your performance in this assessment test and round 1 performance, we will select
the top 3 candidates for a phone interview. Ranking will be given to the top 10 candidates
who will also be considered for future opportunities.
Answer Sheet Format: You can either use Word doc, latex to type in your answer, or write
neatly in a paper and scan it. We encourage you to send it as a pdf, or image file (jepg, jpg)
You can email the code files (for group C question). If you are sending multiple files, please
zip them into one file. All answers should be emailed to internme@labxfoundation.org.
Your subject line of email and name of attachment must be:
Last Name_First Name_Internme2014_Round2_Solution
Queries: If you have any difficulty in understanding the questions, feel free to send an
email to internme@labxfoundation.org
Time: 27
th
April -10
th
May, 2014, 11.59pm IST.
This questionnaire MUST remain confidential. You cannot distribute your questionnaire to
anyone else without prior permission.
Lab-X Foundation 2014
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Note :
These are not made up simply for a test. They are real problems (though somewhat simplified) that are
attempted to be solved at Fermilab while conducting various complex experiments. An unfortunate side
effect is - there may be information that got left out because everyone working on this experiment
already knows it. If you think that is the case, please contact us at internme@labxfoundation.org.
However, do realize that some assumption may have to be made for solving the questions. Please state
your assumptions clearly, if you have done so.

Group A
Electrical/Electronics Engineering
This problem can be solved with simulation and trial and error. This is not an acceptable solution. An
analytic solution is required, even if very approximate. If you cannot reach a numeric answer, provide a
clear description of steps required to solve the problem.
Below is a schematic for the high voltage protection circuit used on the mu2e preamplifier

Figure 1: Schematic for the high voltage protection circuit used on the mu2e preamplifier


Lab-X Foundation 2014
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For various reasons, the detector this amplifier works with will sometimes spark. The spark is
represented by switch S1. The left side of C1, which is normally at 1500V, suddenly drops to zero volts.
The right side, which is normally close to 0V, will briefly go to -1500V while the capacitor discharges.
Diodes D1 and D2 protect transistor Q1. Without them, the base of Q1 would go to -1500V for less
than a microsecond, but that is enough to destroy the transistor.
Assume all components as perfect no stray parasitics, no voltage coefficients, no leakage, switch closes
instantaneously except D1 and D2. For those, use the properties you can find at the On Semi web site
http://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/MMVL3401T1-D.PDF
The voltages and currents involved are outside the specifications for this diode. The challenge is finding
reasonable assumptions and extrapolations to complete the calculation.
PROBLEM: Estimate the peak voltage at the base of Q1 when switch S1 closes. State and justify all
assumptions and extrapolations you make.


Group B
Mechanical
This problem can be solved with an FEA. This is not an acceptable solution. An analytic solution is
required, even if very approximate. If you cannot reach a numeric answer, provide a clear description of
steps required to solve the problem.









Figure 2: Drawing of a structure used in mu2e
Aluminum (6061)
Stainless Steel
(316)
Plastic To be decided

All dimensions in mm
Lab-X Foundation 2014
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Above is a drawing of a structure we use in mu2e. Materials are color-coded as shown. A simplified
cross-section of the structure is shown below, using the same colors as before. There is a radially inward
load on the plastic part of 180 kilo Pascal. There is no direct load on the metal parts; of course, the
plastic will transfer load to the metal structure.
The plastic is rigid enough to prevent buckling of the stainless steel, and to transport the load to the rest
of the structure. Its modulus, however, is sufficiently low to ignore for large-scale distortions.
The structure works if the arc shown in green is made of stainless steel. It may also work if made of
aluminum or brass to lower cost and improve electrical and thermal behavior.

Figure 3 : A simplified cross-section of the structure shown in Figure 2
Even the simplified geometry requires an FEA (finite element analysis) to analyze distortions. However
approximate estimates are useful as well.
PROBLEM: Estimate the percentage change in distortion of this structure, relative to stainless steel, if the
green ring is instead made of aluminum or brass. You may assume all distortions are elastic. Note the
distortions are mostly out of the plane of the arc.

Group C
Computer Science Engineering

As part of our assembly and testing, we collect data from a wide variety of sensors (temperature, carbon
dioxide, strain gauges, etc). But it is unlikely you will have these. Instead, demonstrate your ability to
read data using a widely available, standardized device: A Mouse.
PROBLEM: Write a C/C++ program which reads USB mouse x,y data and displays the current position of
the mouse on the screen. The program must access raw mouse data (e.g., in Windows, use of
WM_MOUSEMOVE is not acceptable).
The program must be in C/C++. It must build and run on Windows using VC10 Express, or on a Mac (or
Linux) using GCC.
All dimensions in mm