CLIMATIC & VIBRATION TESTING: NEWS ROUNDUP The 146AE boasts a frequency range and
dynamic range from IEC compatible ½inch measurement microphones of 3.15Hz – 20kHz, 18dB(A) – 138dB and 50mV/Pa. According to GRAS product manager
Jan Hansen, the 146AE offers an alternative to traditional automotive testing microphones: “Our customers have been asking for a robust, dependable and precise microphone set that is tailor-made for automotive testing and we have listened. “The 146AE is the only automotive
microphone that can deliver accurate data - even when measuring under the most extreme conditions.”
❱❱ Robust automotive microphone ensures reliable and repeatable acoustic tests
VIBRATION RESISTANT MIC FOR AUTOMOTIVE TESTING
manufacturer GRAS Sound & Vibration UK. The new instrument is waterproof and is able to withstand high temperatures. The microphone is shock, dust and oil mist resistant so it is able to withstand the harsh environments of automotive testing without compromising measurement quality. The 146AE measurement microphone is
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designed specifically to meet the demands of the automotive industry and can perform accurately and reliably under the most extreme test conditions, minimising costly re-testing and rescheduling, providing efficiency, valid data and high performance all at the same time. GRAS has focused on ensuring the
146AE microphone performs in real-life automotive application conditions with strong vibrations, drop, extreme temperatures and water or dust. It is ideal for engine compartment measurements, transmissions, exhaust and brake noise tests. The design of the microphone caters for
these extreme conditions with the use of replaceable components, such as a particle filter and a repairable diaphragm. The replaceable grid filter ensures that
any build-up of water, dust and other particles results in just a filter change rather than a new microphone being required.
36 /// Environmental Engineering /// March 2018 ❱❱ Track defects have an acoustic signature that can be picked up using new fibre-optic technology
he 146AE ultra-rugged automotive microphone is now available from advanced measurement microphone
PUTTING AN EAR TO THE RAILS
widening set of applications in the railway industry. The system uses a set of ears in the shape of fibre optic cables alongside the rails. An electromagnetic signal is pulsed along the cables and the reflected signal analysed for variations that map to acoustic events. By fine tuning the signal analysis
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algorithms, engineers can perform basic tasks, like wheel-counting on passing trains, to more complex functions, such as detecting changes in sound patterns that could indicate rail deterioration, weld failures or an imminent rail breakage. The system is even being evaluated for use as a security tool to detect dangerous
istributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology from Frauscher Sensor Technology is finding an ever-
intrusions onto tracks by people or large animals. The scope of applications for the
technology is wide and the Institute of Railway Research at the University of Huddersfield has been engaged in studies to explore its full potential.
RENT-A-BOT SERVICE COULD SOLVE CLIMATIC CHALLENGES
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arrington Robotics has launched a rental service for industrial robots and even collaborative cobots from
as little as £65 a day. The service is aimed at smaller industrial companies that are looking to invest in automation but prefer to take the capital equipment as part of a service. According to Warrington Robotics, its
equipment is well suited to industrial environments and is capable of performing a large range of tasks that can easily be automated, from picking and placing, to operating a screwdriver, to gluing and more. Additionally, the use of such technology
can be of benefit in accelerated life testing, where equipment under test needs to be operated repetitively in climatic chambers. The use of robotics in these cases reduces human exposure to such environments. Tim Warrington of Warrington Robotics
says: “As the demand for this technology grows, we’re supporting many of our customers who are new to using robots.”
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