Investigations of operating parameters of widely used sand mixers reveal a wide variability range in the values of parameters associated

with their power demand. Power efficiency of manufacturing processes has received a great deal of attention lately, which encourages the

research efforts to optimise this aspects of operation of machines and installations as well. In the first place these machines

and installations have to work properly as a part of the process line- which applies also to moulding sand mixers. Experiments conducted

by the authors suggest that the same goal can be achieved at variable energy input levels. To obtain information about the power demands

of sand mixers requires the use of highly specialised equipment, methodology and result processing procedures. This study provides a brief

characteristic of measurement equipment and results of measurements taken on a unit AG-015 (based on a roller mixer) and a laboratory

rotor mixer.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), based on the IEEE 802.16 standards, is a technology that offers low cost mobile broadband access to multimedia and internet applications for operators and end-users. Similarly to cellular phone or other Radio Frequency devices, WiMAX has to be considered as a possible source of electromagnetic pollution and so monitoring its emission could be necessary to verify compliance with the applicable emission limits. Generally, the monitoring of the electromagnetic pollution is performed by means of a suitable measurement chain constituted by an antenna connected to a traditional spectrum analyzer. The use of this kind of device to measure the power of digital modulated noise-like signals, such as WiMAX, requires to use proper measurement methods and to carefully set many instrument parameters to obtain reliable measurement results, otherwise a significant underestimate or overestimate of the human exposure can be obtained.

In this framework, this paper investigates the feasibility of using the traditional spectrum analyzer to perform the electromagnetic pollution measurements due to WiMAX devices. A large experimental campaign is carried out to identify the most proper measurement method and spectrum analyzer settings able to warrant reliable measurements.

A prototype of a DSP-based instrument for in-service transmitter power measurements is presented. The instrument implements a signal-selective algorithm for power measurements that is suitable for use in wireless environments, where possible uncontrolled interfering sources are present in the radio channel and are overlapped to the signal emitted by the transmitter under test, possibly in both time and frequency domain. The measurement method exploits the principles of cyclic spectral analysis, which are briefly recalled in the paper. Potentialities, as well as limitations of the prototype use are discussed, and the results of experiments with both modulated and unmodulated interfering sources are presented.

Vacuum conditions in foundry installations are generated using electric-driven vacuum pumps. The purpose of the experiment is to evaluate the performance of a vacuum-assisted system for compaction of moulding sand basing on registered plots of selected electric power parameters of the power-supplying system of the pumps. Model testing done on an experimental vacuum system installation, power-supplied from a system incorporating the recorders of instantaneous current and voltage values. Following the numerical procedure, the experimental data are analysed to yield mathematical relationships between the variations of the generated vacuum pressure levels and variations of selected electric power parameters. Registered and computed values of selected parameters: instantaneous and RMS voltage and current values, active, reactive and apparent power levels and power coefficient allow for diagnosing the adequacy and reliability of the system operation. According to the authors, the applied monitoring of the power parameters of a vacuum-assisted installation may become an effective and easy practical method of evaluating the performance of such installations, used also in foundry plants.

In this article the main problems related with the proper choice of the design and operation parameters of vacuum installation in vacuum moulding system have been discussed. In such system a vacuum are generated using electric-driven vacuum pumps. The aim of the experiment is to evaluate the performance of a vacuum system basing on registered plots of selected electric power parameters of the power-supplying system of the pumps with parallel measurements instantaneous values of pressure in selected points of model stand. The measurements system for power-supply unit has incorporated the recorders of instantaneous current and voltage values. Following the suitable numerical procedure, the experimental data are analysed to yield mathematical relationships between the variations of the generated vacuum pressure levels and variations of selected electric power parameters. According to the authors, the applied measurements system of the parameters of a vacuum-assisted installation may become an effective and easy practical method of evaluating the performance of such installations, used also in industry.

The electrical power drawn by an induction motor is distorted in case of appearance of a certain type of failures. Under spectral analysis of the instantaneous power one obtains the components which are connected with definite types of damage. An analysis of the amplitudes and frequencies of the components allows to recognize the type of fault.

The paper presents a metrological analysis of the measurement system used for diagnosis of induction motor bearings, based on the analysis of the instantaneous power. This system was implemented as a set of devices with dedicated software installed on a PC. A number of measurements for uncertainty estimation was carried out. The results of the measurements are presented in the paper. The results of the aforementioned analysis helped to determine the measurement uncertainty which can be expected during bearing diagnostic measurements, by the method relying on measurement and analysis of the instantaneous power of an induction machine.