ASEN 2002 Introduction to Thermodynamics and Aerodynamics Fall 2010

ASEN 2002
Experimental Laboratory 3
Instrumented Coffee Maker Tests
Assigned Wed 29 Sept or Mon 4 Oct or Wed 6 Oct
Individual Lab Reports due 25 OCT
OBJECTIVES
Use temperature, flow rate, and power measurements to compute the efficiency of a commercial coffee maker.

REQUIRED DELIVERABLES
Attendance at every lab period is required. Instructions for weekly tasks and the individual report will be
presented during the scheduled lab time.
Prepare a written report of the results of your laboratory exercises. Use the guidelines for short and precise
report style.

Experiment (STARTS Wed 29 Sept or Mon 4 Oct or Wed 6 Oct)

Coffee Maker Tests
There are 5 coffee makers. Record the serial number and pertinent manufacturer information for the one you
test. Only 5 groups will test during each lab session, the remaining groups will be scheduled to test on
subsequent lab periods.
1 Flow meter calibration.
The flow meter will be used to determine the rate of water flow from the coffee maker reservoir through the
filter basket and into the carafe. To operate and understand the coffee pot experimental setup, refer to the
following technical handouts:
i) Coffee Pot with USB DAQ Procedure
ii) Coffee Pot, Flowmeter Principle of Operation
iii) Coffee Pot, Electrical Diagram
You have received some descriptive material, including a diagram of the flow meter transducer. The reported
specification for this model flow meter is 36,000 pulses/liter.
a) Cold-flow calibration:
i) Perform a cold-flow calibration of the Coffee Pot flow meter.
ii) Repeat this process at least three times and calculate an average pulse count per liter.
b) Hot-flow calibration:
i) Perform a hot-flow calibration of the Coffee Pot flow meter.
ii) Repeat this process at least three times and calculate an average pulse count per liter.
iii) Repeat for different volumes of water.
iv) Contrast the flow rates between cold-flow and a hot-flow calibration with the expected value of 36,000
pulses per liter
c) Estimate the mass flow rate:
i) Plot the rate of flow in liters versus time using an average calibration value.

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ii) Compute a mean flow rate from the flow rate data.
2 Compute the thermodynamic efficiency of a commercial coffee maker.
a) Examine the coffee maker. Locate the flow meter and the power meter. Figure 1 is a schematic of a fully
instrumented coffee maker. Each T indicates the possible location of a thermocouple. The obvious goal of
the coffee maker is to make hot coffee. Refer to your study of the thermodynamics of open systems. What
variables must be measured to determine the power consumption of the coffee maker during the brewing
cycle? Place thermocouples in such a way that you can measure the “useful” portion of the energy
consumption during the brewing cycle, i.e., the heat (energy) transferred into the water.
b) Again, refer to the Coffee Pot with USB DAQ Procedure to operate the coffee pot.
c) Plot the instantaneous power consumption [W].
d) Determine the rate of heat transfer to the water [W] during the brewing process.
e) Determine efficiency using
Energy Sought
.
Energy Bought

T8
T9 T3

T14
T15 T6
T13 T5
T1 T4
T12
T16
T7
m 1
T10
8

T2
T11

W , I , V

Figure 1. Coffee Maker Instrumentation (T denotes thermocouples)

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Experiment Laboratory Setup Procedures – Coffee Pot

Equipment List

Qty 1 (2 m) BNC coaxial cables

Qty 1 (2 m) USB device cable
Coffee Pot with mounted NI DAQ hardware
Extension Cord
Bucket and wooden shelf
Graduated cylinder
Distilled water jug with pump dispenser

Coffee Pot Experiment Setup

1. Choose a LabStation with a SCXI yellow K type cable assembly.
2. Locate your coffee pot and record the serial number (i.e unit #1, 2, 3, 4 or 5).
3. Visually confirm the wire mesh is firmly in place over drain outlet (inside the bottom of water reservoir) to
protect particulates from damaging the flow meter. The flow meter paddle wheel may stop turning if even
the smallest particles (35 microns) enter the sensor.
4. Be sure to use FRESH DISTILLED WATER when doing any part of this experiment! Do not reuse
water that has flowed through coffee pot as it can permanently damage the flow meter. DO NOT use
tap water.
5. Turn ON the SCXI-1000 chassis power (on the side of the Lab Station above the computer tower).

Power Switch

Figure 1: SCXI-1000 Power Supply

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6. Connect (or verify connection of) a USB device cable to the NI DAQ hardware inside the black electronics
box mounted on the back of the coffee pot. The non-USB end has a trident symbol on one side; this is the
“top.” Take this end of the cable, and with the top facing you, insert through the large black grommet.
Push in until it seats into the DAQ system inside. Refer to Figure 2 below for proper installation:

Figure 2: USB device cable installation

b. Connect the other end of the USB cable to the appropriate computer tower corresponding to the
correct lab station (side A or side B).
c. Connect a BNC cable to the appropriate (circular) terminal on the black electronics box.
d. Connect the other end of the BNC cable to Channel 1 of the oscilloscope, but do not turn the scope
on yet.
e. Wait to plug in power to the coffee pot.

7. Open the shortcut on the desktop to the “Measurement & Automation” device driver software for national
instruments. The open window should look like this:
8. Click the “Devices and Interfaces” tap. Click the “NI-DAQmx Devices” and verify the “NI USB-6008” is
listed as “Dev 2”. It must be listed as Dev 2 to communicate with the VI, if it is skip the remaining steps

and move to “Coffee Pot Flow Meter Calibration Procedure” on the next page.
9. Each time the coffee pot USB module is plugged in it creates a new device number associated with its
serial number. The VI however calls “dev 2” and CANNOT communicate with “Dev 3, 4, etc.” To reset
this, unplug the USB cable from the computer.

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10. Right click on the “NI USB-6008” and select “Delete”.

11. The only device still listed should be “Dev 1” the internal PCI card inside the computer. Do not try to
delete this card.
12. Plug the USB cable back in and verify it is now listed as “Dev 2” and no other higher device numbers are
present.

Coffee Pot Flow Meter Calibration Procedure:

Refer to the Coffee Pot, Flow Meter Principle of Operation Document to see and understand how the flow meter
measures flow rate.
1. Cold-flow calibration:
a. Turn on the oscilloscope.
b. Confirm that the coffee maker is NOT connected to the power outlet.
c. Open the Coffee Flow Meter Calibration VI from the ASEN 2002 class folder. Start the VI by
clicking on the right arrow button located in the top left toolbar.
d. Disconnect the orange rubber flow line from the heating element on the downstream side of the
flow meter. (Not the hose going up to the carafe.) Use the wooden shelf to prop the coffee maker
(without the carafe) over the bucket, making sure that exit hose empties properly into the bucket
and will not flow onto the teal cart top.
e. Using a graduated cylinder, measure and record a prescribed amount (½ liter or less is sufficient)
of distilled water. Pour into the coffee maker reservoir.
f. On the oscilloscope, press the “Autoset” button. A wave train of digital pulses should be displayed
on oscilloscope. If the wave train is not visible on the oscilloscope, turn OFF power supplies and
get help from the support staff. You may have to adjust the position of the pulses using the
“Vertical Position” knob above the yellow “Menu/1” button. For one of your trials, draw a sketch
of the oscilloscope trace.
g. You must record the flowmeter count for each trial in your lab notebook, the data is not saved
by the VI. Click on the Reset Counter button between each run to acquire a new set of data.
h. Perform a total of at least three „Cold Flow‟ trials, using a different volume of water each time.
2. Hot-flow calibration:
a. Reconnect the orange rubber flow line back onto the heating element.
b. Carefully place the coffee maker on the TEAL CART top surface and put the carafe in place.
NEVER run the coffee pot on the Lab Station surface.
c. Check that the Coffee Flow Meter Calibration VI is still running and the Reset Counter button has
been selected.
d. Using the graduated cylinder pour a known amount (less than ½ liter) of distilled water into the
coffee maker reservoir. As the water percolates it flows from the reservoir, down the flow meter,
through the heating element, up to the filter holder and eventually drips into the carafe.
e. Plug in the coffee pot‟s power cord. Turn ON the coffee pot.
f. As the water runs through the flow meter, a wave train of digital pulses should be displayed on the
oscilloscope. If the wave train is not visible on the oscilloscope, get help from the support staff.
You may have to adjust the position of the pulses using the “Position” knob. Draw a sketch of the
oscilloscope trace for one hot flow calibration trial also.
g. Once there is no flow into the carafe, empty the carafe and use the graduated cylinder to estimate
if any water has been lost. Be careful, the coffee pot and burner will be HOT!
h. You must record the flow meter count in your lab notebook; the data is not saved by the VI.
Click on the Reset Counter button between each run to acquire a new set of data.
i. Perform a total of at least three „Hot Flow‟ trials, using a different volume of water each time.
j. Click on the “Quit” button when you are finished using the VI.

Coffee Pot Efficiency Measurement Procedure:

Refer to the Coffee Pot Electrical Diagram to learn how the power measurements are made.
1. Load the Coffee Energy Measurements VI. Ensure coffee pot is ON.
2. Enter your calculated Flowmeter Calibration Constant (pulses/L) from the hot flow test on the VI
panel. Should you use the hot flow calibration or the cold flow calibration? Start the VI by clicking on the
right arrow button located in the top left toolbar.
3. Pour a prescribed amount of water into the coffee pot using techniques from above.

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4. Place two thermocouples in such a way as to measure the amount of energy transferred into the water by
heat. Hint: You will want to know the water temperature before and after it flows through the heater.
Connect the thermocouples to the yellow type K connecters, and specify which channels you are using in
the VI. During normal operation, you will see the temperatures measured by each thermocouple as a graph
in the VI.
5. In normal operation, you will observe a pulse train on the scope. On the CPU screen, a red and a green sine
wave trace for current and voltage, a line on the power graph and a time varying trace representing flow
rate. If you do not see this performance, contact help to troubleshoot equipment.
6. Keep the VI running for the entire brewing cycle and then a few minutes for the heating cycle to begin
before you finish the test.
7. Click on the STOP & SAVE DATA button when you are finished using the VI. Be sure to save your data
file in your Z: folder.
8. When finished, turn OFF all power sources (in no particular order). Disconnect USB, BNC and power
cables.
9. All used water can be poured down the nearest drain.

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