Development of didactic test bench to verify the reliability of control and protection systems

The objective of this thesis is to develop a chemical test bench, using many components, and verify the reliability of this system. The principal components used to develop this testbench are an Arduino board, some sensors (used to measure the water level and the temperature), a micropumps, a microcontroller, a flow switch, reservoirs, LED and resistors, IR receiver and lastly a heater for aquarium (used to heat the water contained in the reservoir). After a first part of design, I create then the physical model: a chemical mixing experimental setup that is controlled by Arduino Uno. During the test I required some component, and I designed it by myself using a 3D printer, more specifically I printed some nozzles and an Arduino case. The code is written on the Arduino’s IDE. This final model is divided in two, one without the control part of the pump and the heater and ones with the control of these two systems with Arduino by means of a relay (but more complicated). This thesis is the continuous of another thesis but the proposed system is a bit different.Electronic and mechanical components are merged in this thesis. Focusing on the sensor: the temperature sensor and the level sensor are connected to Arduino by means of a breadboard, the flow switches, the micropump are connected directly to the socket. The values acquired by sensors are displayed on a LCD system, and the data can be read from it by switching by means of a remote. The three tanks are in plastic and with different dimensions. The fluid pass through some silicon tube that are connected directly to the flow switches and the pump. The heater aquarium is in the middle tank, the temperature is selected (directly from the heater) and once it is reached, it will remain constant. The temperature sensor is used to see if everything works fine and to measure the reliability of the system. Thanks, of the printed case I saved a lot of space, and the system appears clearer and simply. Furthermore, once the software is loaded on the board it does not need anymore the connection via USB cable to the computer, but it can need only an alimentation of a battery of 9V. The case is composed by 3 parts: the Arduino board with the mini breadboard is in the center part, at the right part there is the battery and on the left the LCD. This case is convenient to use for the version without the control of the 2 components since the relay occupy a lot of space and there are 2 cable and other more connections. The complete system is composed by the electronic circuit inside the case printed by me and the three tanks connected each other by means of the silicone tube. In the project without the control part the pump is used to pump the water from the first reservoir to the second and its power can be modified. The flow stiches are used to control the water’s flow and are permanently connected to the alimentation to make the system safer. When the LCD show the warning about the water level, the user can activate the pump and decrease the water level. The heater aquarium turns off when the temperatures reach the requested one (for example 30°C). The temperature is settled directly on the heater. The system with the control part is almost the same: it has only a relay to control the heater and the pump and some wires. The code of the two projects is the same and are showed in the complete thesis. In the thesis will be also analyzed the concept of reliability. In conclusion, the result is satisfactory.