Test 2
Environmental Test
Owners: Kyle, Jeff, Rachelle
Purpose:
To ensure that the monitor is capable of operating in multiple environments including those with
extreme temperature and humidity conditions.
This test is actually a collection of tests used to validate the following specifications and to ensure
that the monitor will be able to perform under any conditions that it may see while in use in the
field.
Specifications Involved: S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S10
Spec. #
Original
Spec. #
Importance
From CN
S3
S3
9
2
S4
S4
9
2, 9
S5
S6
S9
S10
9
9
6
6, 9
S7
S11
9
5
S8
S12
9
5, 9
S9
S25
9
18
S10
S26
9
18
Specification (metric)
Size of Particulate Matter captured to
measure
Accuracy of Particulate Matter
measurement
Operating Humidity range for
measurements
Accuracy of Humidity Sensor
Range of temperatures captured by
Temperature Sensor
Accuracy of Temperature Sensor
measurement
Operating Humidity Range for continued
monitor use
Operating Temperature Range for
continued monitor use
Unit of
Measure
Marginal
Value
Resolution
Ideal
Value
µg/m^3
50
5
30
µg/m^3
+/-10
5
+/-5
%RH
+/- %RH
0 to 95%
+/- 5%
+/- 5%
0 to 100%
+/- 0.1%
°C
-5-45°C
1
-15-55°C
+/- °C
+/- 2
% Humidity
°C
Temperature
0 to 95%
+/- 5%
0 to 100%
-5-45°C
1
-15-55°C
+/- 0.1
Materials:
 Monitor
Methods:
Haiti weather data:
Humidity: High: 71-63 Low: 63-53
Temperature: High: 95-89 Low: 74-68
The monitor can be run through all of the following scenarios for the specified time to ensure that
it is capable of operating in all possible conditions. The time that these tests are conducted should
be long enough to ensure that the monitor has had a chance to normalize to the environmental
conditions but not so long as to collect irrelevant data. Due to the inability to use the
environmental test chamber the purpose of this test is to show that the sensors are functioning
properly and that the data received from them in reasonable.
1. Room Temp.
a. Run Time: 10 minutes
b. The sensor should be held at room temperature ~20°C(68°F) (in the EE SD Lab) to
ensure that the monitor is initially functioning properly and that there are no
unexpected fluctuations in the readings received from the monitor.
c. This can be done using a 1 second measurement frequency if possible with available
memory.
2. Low Temp.
a. Run Time: 30 minutes
b. Monitor should be held at a temperature of roughly -15°C(5°F) or lower to ensure
lower operating temperature.
c. This may be done by placing the monitor in a freezer or outside during the
Rochester winter (weather permitting) to gather data. The monitor should however
be protected from outside elements such as precipitation.
3. High Temp.
a. Run Time: 30 minutes
b. Monitor should be held above room temperature to ensure upper operating
temperature.
c. This test should validate both the sensor operation and the monitor’s electronics
ability to operate at higher temperatures such as those that would be experience in
Haiti.
d. This may be done by bringing the monitor to somewhere such as the sauna in the
RIT Field House where temperature is higher than room temperature.
4. High Humidity
a. Run Time: 15 minutes
b. Run monitor for an extended period of time in a high humidity environment to
ensure that the monitor will record changes in humidity. Possible use of shower or
going into an area such as the pool in the RIT Field House should be able to show
correlation between high and low humidity.
5. Thermal-cycling
a. Run Time: 20 minutes
b. Monitor needs to go from warm to cold extreme repeatedly to ensure that gradual
and rapid temperature changes will not impede the monitor’s ability to work.
c. This can be done by repeatedly exiting and entering the Engineering building to take
readings outside and inside.
d. It should be timed the number of times that the monitor is cycled and the cycling
should happen at regular intervals, either 1 minute or 30 seconds.
6. Particulate Matter
a. Run Time 15 minutes
b. Monitor should be placed in a very dusty environment to ensure that it is capable of
operating when exposed to excessive particulate matter.
c. Possible use of a candle or smoker’s exhale could be used.
7. After each test the monitor should be checked for physical damage before the data is
extracted and then checked to ensure that it is valid.