Electrical Engineering laboratories

Our facilities

Signals Laboratory (CB11.11.302)

The Signals Laboratory has 16 stations with equipment for the measurement, acquisition and processing of a variety of electrical signals. Basic test equipment including oscilloscopes, waveform generators, power supplies and multimeters are on each lab station. Telecommunications trainers (TIMs) provide modules to perform analog modulation and filtering of message signals as would be found in radio broadcasting and other communication systems. Computers with data acquisition boards and LabVIEW software are used to measure physical signals such as temperature or heartbeat and display these signals on the computer monitor. Some experiments use the acquired signals to provide feedback to the systems that generated them to modify their behaviour (control them). Students use this lab in stage 4 and later stages.

Junior Circuits Laboratory (CB11.11.402)

This laboratory is used for teaching in the early stages of the Electrical Engineering program and also caters for students in Mechanical, Mechatronics and ICT programs. There are 50 lab stations to cater for large classes, and each station has a Digital Storage Oscilloscope, Dual Power Supplies, Multimeter, Function Generator and Breadboard. Students build and test basic circuits operating at extra-low voltage.

Power Systems Laboratory (CB11.10.103)

The Power Systems Laboratory has 12 stations with equipment to run experiments related to electrical power systems. Single and three-phase electrical supplies are available as well as resistive, capacitive and inductive loads. Experiments are run for balanced and unbalanced three-phase loads and power factor correction of single and three-phase circuits. 

The lab has dissectable electric motors consist of interchangeable parts (rotors and stators) to construct a variety of AC and DC motors. The open frame construction allows students to view the internal operation of the motors and to access measurement points needed to characterize the motors. Experiments are run to demonstrate the links between the electrical and mechanical properties of motors. Further experiments are run to show how to measure parameters of real motors and measure their performance.

The lab also has model power generators which are used to simulate distributed power generation and load sharing. Power system monitoring and protection is investigated using current transformers, protection relays and power meters. Experiments on fundamental electrical concepts such as inductance and capacitance are also run here.

Control Laboratory (CB11.22.300)

The Control Laboratory has a variety of model control systems. These represent scale versions of real systems such as Gantry Cranes or physically embody challenging control problems. Each of the twelve stations is unique, and students conduct experiments to mathematically model their system and then design and implement a controller to achieve given specifications. Controllers may be analog and implemented using op-amps circuits, or digital implemented on a UTS ModCon realtime microcontroller. The range of model systems available is suitable for introductory control and for advanced techniques such as multivariable or robust control.

Embedded Software Laboratory (CB11.11.404)

Microcontrollers are widely used in industry and commerce. This laboratory provides students with a flexible microcontroller board and a programming and testing environment to learn the principles of microcontroller operation and programming. Each lab station has a UTS ModCon microcontroller, a PC with compiler software and ModCon interface, power supply, signal generator and oscilloscope. Students are given a variety of programming tasks and implement and test their programs on the ModCon. There are 28 stations in the Embedded software lab.

Embedded Projects Laboratory (CB11.11.404)

This laboratory provides facilities for students undertaking detail design tasks in Analog Electronics, Digital Electronics and capstone projects. There are basic facilities for the assembly of surface mount printed circuit boards, and test equipment such as power supplies and oscilloscopes is available. As a projects laboratory, the students can set up their equipment and don’t need to disconnect at the end of a lab session. This provides a better environment to work on more complex tasks which may take many hours or days. This lab caters for only a small number of students.