Reading a signal from the Biddle on the oscilloscope.

The Energy Systems Institute maintains a rapid-response integrated facility capable of quickly implementing existing and new applications for industry and government activity. The Institute facility is designated a SEAS Laboratory (SEAS refers to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, under the management of the Dean of Engineering, Dr. M. Karwan). The ESI is thus managed directly through the office of the Dean, ensuring that rapid faculty, government, and industry use is available. The ESI Facility also includes two seperate shielded high-bay areas with side staging areas. These areas are equipped with instrumentation necessary for the execution of ESI's research. Among the most notable pieces of equipment are:

1. A research-quality Hipotronics 0-300kV (continuously adjustable) 50kW AC partial discharge analysis system capable of system measurements at 60Hz AC on test volumes in air of more than 10 cubic meters.
2. A Hipotronics 100-600kV, multikilojoule impulse generator capable of accomodating both short- and long-duration surge voltage withstand testing.
3. A precision, highly-regulated 0-300kV DC Deltaray supply for voltage withstand measurements and DC partial discharge analysis.
4. A Hamamatsu nanosecond-through-millisecond time-duration image-intensified streak and framing camera and temporal analysis system.
5. A Westinghouse precision-regulated 1-135kV, 500Hz, 50kW pulser capable of closed-loop output pulse regulation. The output peak voltage is continuously adjustable and regulates to a fixed point, for accurate, reproducible insulation aging and withstand experiments.
6. A six-channel Tektronix nanosecond-rise-time analog pulse digitizer/recording system, situated in a dedicated screen room adjacent to and connected electrically to one high-bay area.
7. A 0-40kV AC/DC, 20kW average power research analyzer for simultaneous AC and DC microdischarge analysis of materials, specifically developed as a research instrument for the ESI in conjunction with Biddle Manufacturing. Calibration and testing by Biddle.
8. A megawatt peak power, multikilohertz pulse repetition rate hard tube pulser, developed to provide very fast rise time (< 20 nanoseconds), unipolar pulses of continuously adjustable duration from 100 nanoseconds to over 5 microseconds. This instrumentation allows multifactor stress aging of complex insulation architectures and components representative of modern systems, for voltages up to 15 kV.
9. A state-of-the-art Electronic Packaging Laboratory with the capability to test and evaluate packaging materials and techniques under extreme conditions. (See the packaging lab website for more detailed information)