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Pre-run checklist (engineering rationale)

This page is the engineering-rationale version of the checklist. The same checklist in operator form, intended for printing, is in the SOP. The two should be kept in sync; if you change something here, change it there too.

Physical state of the lab

  • Exhaust path clear. Nothing inside the band-saw block; the band saw itself is in place across the exhaust. Rationale: exhaust airflow becomes a wind on objects past the saw; a person past the saw becomes the wind's target.
  • Test section interior clean. No tools, fasteners, cables, or rags. Visual sweep with the test-section lamp on. Rationale: anything loose accelerates to fan speed.
  • Model is mechanically secure. Visual inspection of all mounts and fasteners; tug test on the sting / model mounting. Rationale: a model coming loose is the highest-consequence failure mode for the facility.
  • Test-section access panels closed and latched. Rationale: open panels at speed are noisy at best and structural at worst.
  • Camera and laser bench mechanically secure. Tripods stable, cables out of the airflow, no items leaning against the test-section walls.

Electrical state

  • Main switch off when initially walking up. Rationale: an unsupervised energized drive is a defect; we treat the de-energized state as the resting state.
  • Visual inspection of cabling between the main switch, the VFD enclosure, and the motor. Any visible damage halts the run.
  • VFD enclosure closed. No exceptions; never run with the enclosure open.
  • Lockout/tagout removed if it was applied for prior maintenance.

Network and PC state

  • Lab PC powered on, no pending updates that will force a reboot mid-run.
  • Ethernet 4 holds 192.168.50.100. Verify in PowerShell with Get-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias 'Ethernet 4' or whatever the adapter friendly name is on the PC.
  • RETA-01 reachable. Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.50.10 -Port 502 returns TcpTestSucceeded : True. Rationale: this catches lost-IP and unseated-adapter problems before they confuse the control software.

Drive state

  • Keypad shows REM in the upper-left corner. If it shows LOC, press LOC/REM on the keypad. Rationale: the motor cannot be started from software in LOC mode.
  • No fault codes on the keypad. If a fault is latched, clear it from the keypad (RESET) and identify the cause before proceeding — see Troubleshooting → Faults and alarms.
  • Critical parameters intact: 10.01 = 10, 11.03 = 8, 99.02 = 1, 98.02 = 4, group 51 IPs as documented. Rationale: these define remote-controllability of the drive. If they drift, see Maintenance → Parameter recovery.

Smoke generator and laser

Only required if flow visualization is part of the run.

  • Smoke generator off and unplugged from fluid refill in the last 5 minutes.
  • Glycol reservoir has fluid. Refilling mid-run is disruptive and a spill hazard.
  • Laser power supply at 12 V exactly. Do not raise the voltage.
  • Laser beam terminates on a diffuse non-reflective surface. Inspect the path; remove any new reflective object that has appeared since the last run.
  • Door placard updated to reflect laser-in-use.

Software state

  • ADCL WinSoft launches and connects to the VFD. Footer bar shows a green "Connected" indicator on the VFD side.
  • DAQ status: real, not simulated. Footer bar shows "DAQ: cDAQ1" rather than "DAQ: simulated". If it shows simulated and you expect real data, see Troubleshooting → Modbus connection — the same diagnostic style applies to DAQ.
  • Data output folder for today exists and the destination drive has at least a few GB of free space.
  • Operator-entered model length is the right value for the model in the section (used for the live Reynolds-number display).

The first powered run of the day

Before loading the test article, do a stop-path verification as documented in Safety → Emergency stop. All three stop paths (ramp-stop, E-Stop, mains kill) must work. If any one fails, the day's runs do not proceed.