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Avalon....design ideas...
This is the website details of the Avalon project so far. I am posting them
to the list for peer comment and review :)
LET THE GAMES (flames) BEGIN!
Christopher Boden
The Geek Group
www.geekgroup-dot-org
Avalon:
The Avalon project is our greatest endeavor to date, and by far the most
ambitious. The goal is quite simple, to build the largest operating Tesla
Coil in the world, and to make the longest man made electrical discharge.
The project is named after our proposed new facility in Kalamazoo
Michigan, the world headquarters for the Geek Group. It's a large abandoned
power plant on an isolated piece of beautiful land. The name fits it
perfectly. In the great tradition of many large Tesla Coils we have chose to
name the coil after the facility. Wardenclyffe, Colorado Springs, Avalon.
Avalon will be built by members of the Group, as well as many outsiders.
This is the first time non-members have been asked to help in the design and
construction of a project. Members of the Tesla List ( located at
www.pupman-dot-com ) have been asked to help in the design and construction.
Many have already replied with great interest. The Tesla list has proven an
incredible resource to the Group and has helped with Project Sam and various
other areas of our research.
Design Goals:
To enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Tesla Coil in
the world.
To enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest man made
electrical discharge.
To produce consistent 100 feet long electrical discharges. This is
full-blown lightning.
Design Guidelines:
The device must be able to be operated in a safe, consistent, and
reliable manner.
The device must not pose any danger to operator or spectators while in
normal operation.
The device must have triple redundant safety systems on all critical
subsystems.
The device must require 2 keys located 10' apart to be simultaneously
switched to arm the system.
The device must comply to FCC rules (part 15 specifically)
The device must conform to FAA rules (there is an airport less than 5
miles away.)
The device must meet all state and local building codes.
The device must be engineered to last for 50 years under a duty cycle of
5 minutes every 24 hours with reasonable maintenance.
The discharge from the device must be controlled in such a manner as to
strike a dedicated ground point.
The discharge from the device can not be allowed to strike the
surrounding structure, it's support facility, or any other non specified
point.
The device must operate from a maximum of 1KVAC input power.
In the event of any operational anomaly the device is to have redundant
protection systems that will bring the entire system to a power off and
disarmed state within 1 second, and stop rotation of the spark gaps within 5
seconds without causing permanent damage to he system.
Current Design:
Coil Type:
The basic coil type will be a DC powered Magnifier consisting of a
Primary Coil, a Secondary Coil, and a Extra (or Magnifier) Coil, as well as
Spark Gap, Capacitor Bank, Control System, Fire Suppression System, Security
System, Safety System, Ground Array, Topload, Strike Terminal, Tower, and
System Housing.
Power Supply:
3 phase 480 - 660 VAC at 1000 Amperes
Spark Gap:
Asynchronous Rotary gap, 10 rotors mounted on a 3"dia tubular steel
shaft , 12" apart with pillow block roller bearings between each rotor. The
rotors are to be made of G-10 Phenolic resin 12"dia X 3"thick at the shaft
tapering to 1"thick at the edge, drilled with 8 holes to hold Thoriated
Tungsten rods measuring 1/2"dia X 4" in length with 2" protruding from the
rotor edge. There are to be 2 set screws for each electrode mount to
facilitate easy electrode replacement. The rotors are to be balanced
perfectly.
The stand for the spark gap is to be made of tubular steel, with the
mounts for the rotor supports being made from UHMW (Ultra High Molecular
Weight Polyethylene) 4" thick. The stand will hold the shaft and motor
coaxially connected through a lovejoy connection and at a height of 3' from
the floor. The stand is to be mounted on 8 separate 12" tall porcelain
insulators to isolate it from the concrete floor.
At each end of the rotor shaft there shall be an electrically operated
brake. In the event of a fault the brakes shall engage while all power is
cut to the motor simultaneously. There shall be vibration sensors mounted on
the pillow blocks to sense a thrown electrode or other anomaly and shut the
system down safely, without the need for operator intervention. The system
must be manually reset.
Capacitor Bank (L.A.M.M.C.):
The capacitor bank is to be a LAMMC (Large Array Multiple Mini Cap)
comprised of several hundred commercial polypropylene foil capacitors wired
in Series-Parallel with a bleeder resistor across each cap. Individual caps
will be rated for a small fraction of the total capacitance, possibly 2KV at
0.01 uF with copper busbar interconnects.
The LAMMC will be housed in a large flat rack composed of several
tiers. There will be a 1/8" UHMW spacer between each capacitor and 6" of
airspace between tiers. Each tier will be made of a 1" thick UHMW shelf on
4" steel pillars.
Topload (Discharge Terminal):
The topload is to be a 30' diameter sphere made from several rings
of 1"dia steel tubing with 6" between each ring. The sphere will be hollow
with the exception of the frame. There will be a 12"X12"X1" steel plate
mounted on the top of the sphere with several holes of various sixes tapped
in it to facilitate mounting of experiments and discharge points.
Main Tower Structure:
The tower design is still up in the air.
Control System:
The control system shall consist of a main console with positions
for 2 operators spaced 8' apart. The system cannot be armed without both
persons inserting a key and turning it within 1/2 second of each other. To
fire the system both operators must depress a button within 1/10th of a
second of each other. At which point the system will fire for a preset
interval from 1 second to 5 minutes depending on the setting of the timer.
The control system will be extensively metered with the following...
Volts AC Mains
Volts AC to Rectifiers
Volts DC from Rectifiers
Volts DC to ASRG
Volts Tank Circuit
Amps Tank Circuit
Amps Mains
Amps ASRG
Watts Input Power
Watts Output Power
Temp ASRG Motor
Temp ASRG Bearings
Temp Cap Bank (each tier)
Temp Main Transformer Bank (each transformer, measured inside the oil
tank)
Safety System:
Avalon shall have an extensive safety system in order to protect
spectators, staff, operators, and the system itself. In the event of an
anomaly the system will completely shut itself down by removing power from
the main transformer, ASRG, and dumping the Tank circuit to ground.
The following conditions will cause a System Shutdown:
Manual trip of any emergency off button.
Capacitor failure
Capacitor Overheat
Capacitor Vibration Sensor trip (cap cell explosion)
ASRG Motor overheat
ASRG Shaft Excessive Vibration (bearing failure or electrode lost)
A fire alarm trip
Tank circuit anomaly (Extra coil strike, etc...)
Transformer Core Overheat
Purpose:
To make high voltage electrical discharge for the following purposes
scientific research
aircraft design
electrical safety
to hold a world record
promotion
art
Film and Video effects
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