High Voltage Emitter Power Testing Rig
January 2025 - June 2025
Infinite cooling designs large water collection modules that go on top of cooling towers to recollect water and reduce cooling tower water use. These modules consists of large high voltage emitter plates which charge water molecules and push them onto collection plates. It is important to carefully design the emitter plates to optimize water collection and reduce power draw. The company was using an old test frame to accomplish this but the design was not adjustable and had problems with repeatability. I was tasked with designing a new test frame that could produce repeatable measurements of the power draw for the different emitter panel geometries.
Project Walkthrough
Look through the images and descriptions below to see how this project came to life!
Skills / Tools Used:
SolidWorks, horizontal band saw, measuring, wrenches / ratchets, belt sander, multimeter, drill press, high voltage power supply, design for sheet metal / laser cutting, wire strippers / crimpers, heat gun
Initial construction of main test frame
01
Initial Design and Assembly
The test frame was designed as an assembly in SolidWorks. I designed the frame using aluminum strut channel since the grooves allow the frame width to be adjusted for testing different geometries which was a limitation of the old frame. An important part of the design was avoiding anodized / coated components as they may ground properly at high voltages (~55kV), posing a safety hazard. Fiberglass channel was used to provide electrical isolation for the sensor windows which were installed later.
02
Revised Design
Once assembled, I found that some of the connections in the original design would shift during the process of swapping of test panels. This was resulting in errors when trying to reproduce test results. To eliminate this problem, I added an extra vertical support on each side, swapped the mounting brackets to larger ones with more contact area, and added adjustable stopper bolts to precisely control the adjustable test frame width and length.
Reinforced design with protective paneling installed
03
Wiring Sensor Plates
With the revised design confirmed to be more stable and rigid, I wired all of the sensor wires to the individual sensor plates on the side of the test rig. These sensor panels are grounded and collect the corona discharge coming off the emitter panels, results in a measurable voltage. This allows the power draw of the emitter panels to calculating by measuring the voltage drop over a known resistance. The sensor panels were designed in SolidWorks and lasercut by SendCutSend. I spaced the panels using a 1/16" spacer shim.
Close up of sensor wires connected to each of the isolated sensor plates
04
Completion and Test Results
The completed test rig successfully reproduced repeatable results for 60+ emitter tests that I conducted. The sensor windows were able to reliably capture corona discharge and provided an accurate understanding of the power draws of different geometries. I was able to quantify this information and pass it on to influence the design of the next generation of emitters. The design also operated safely with the addition of protective grounding panels significantly reducing the chance of accidental contact with exposed high voltage components.
Complete testing configuration with all panels installed
Lessons Learned:
From this project I experienced the fact that first prototype likely won't work out exactly as you design it CAD. I was able to learn and expand upon my troubleshooting skills to revise a prototype into a functional design. I also learned a lot about working with high voltage, designing for appropriate creepage distances, grounding & bonding, and other important safety considerations.
Project Gallery
Explore the photos below for a more complete look at this project!
