The Testing Blog

NTS Silicon Valley is pleased to announce that it has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an accredited testing laboratory. Under this program, NTS Silicon Valley is officially approved to test for Energy Star- computers, computer servers and imaging equipment as well as the brick type power supplies that often power these devices.

“We are honored to participate in this program and we look forward to providing the highest quality service and testing solutions to our customers,” said Gaylon Morris, General Manager, NTS Silicon Valley. “This is one more testimonial to the fact that NTS Silicon Valley has established itself as a leading provider of compliance engineering services and we continue to look at ways to enhance our growth and development in the Bay Area.”

For more information on how NTS Silicon Valley can assist with your Energy Star program please email svinfo@nts.com or call 510-578-3500.

Since last Fall, our Heavyweight Shock Test Facility (formerly known as DTI) has been undergoing a series of expansion efforts to add new capabilities and enhance our existing test capacity and resources. Our goal is to provide a “one stop shop” for Navy Environmental Qualification Testing.

To complement our current MIL-S-901D shock and MIL-STD-167 vibration capabilities, we have constructed new buildings to house state of the art machinery and electronic equipment to support a variety of environmental tests. Our new capabilities will be operational before May 2012.

Open House
We will be hosting an Open House / Customer Appreciation Day on Thursday, May 3rd 2012 at the new EMI Test Facility. Mark your calendar! This all day event will include tours of the facility and new test capabilities, training seminars on shock, vibration and EMI testing and a pig roast catered by The Pig’s Ear. RSVP here.

NTS is pleased to announce that we have been authorized by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) to conduct USB 3.0 SuperSpeed certification tests on SuperSpeed peripherals, SuperSpeed hosts (using certified silicon), and SuperSpeed peripheral building blocks.  USB 3.0 SuperSpeed is the latest version of the most popular device communication standard on computer, keyboards, mice, printers, hard drives, and a host of devices. For more information on how to get your USB 3.0 SuperSpeed device certified TODAY, please contact us.

Released in May of 2011, GR-1089-CORE Issue 6 Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Electrical Safety requirements for Network Telecommunications Equipment has undergone a number of technical changes. We look at its substantial modifications and the potential impact on previously certified products. Click here for the full article written by NTS EMI/EMC Engineering Manager Jeffrey Viel for InCompliance Magazine.

NTS is pleased to welcome two new locations to our family of test and engineering laboratories. The first, Ingenium Testing of Rockford, IL, was announced on July 21, 2011. The new NTS Rockford is a full-service EMI and EMC engineering and testing facility, spanning over 83,000 square feet on a 5 acre lot. Click here to learn more about NTS Rockford.

Our second new addition was announced on September 1. Lightning Technologies, located in western Massachusetts in the town of Pittsfield, is one of the most complete lightning-simulation laboratories in the world and ranks as an international leader in the development of sophisticated lightning protection systems for customers. Click here to learn more about NTS Pittsfield.

National Technical Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSC) (NTS), a leading provider of engineering services, is pleased to announce that on April 6, 2011, the Telecommunications Certification Body (TCB) Council elected Mark Briggs, Staff Engineer at NTS, Chairperson of its Board of Directors.

TCB’s are accredited organizations with the authority to issue Grants of Certification for compliance with Federal Communications Commission Rules & Regulations. The purpose of the TCB council is to provide a forum for periodic dialogue between the FCC and the TCB’s and to facilitate on-going activities geared toward the improvement of TCB technical and administrative performance. Mark’s election to Chair of the TCB Council Board is a reflection of his deep technical expertise and the great respect he holds among his peers on the Council and within the wireless industry at large.

“I am very honored to be nominated to the position of TCB Council Board Chair. This is an interesting and exciting time and there many important issues before the council. I hope to continue the excellent work done by the outgoing Board under Chair Greg Kiemel, and look forward to working with the new Executive Committee.” Mr. Briggs said.

Mark initially became a member of the Board of Directors in February 2010. In the recent elections for a new board, Mark was nominated for the position of Chair and his appointment was made public on Wednesday, April 6th. His term will be two years, 2011-2013. As Chairman of the TCB Council Board of Directors, Mark will be responsible for setting the agenda, overseeing the Council’s ongoing activities and hosting periodic meetings and open forums.

Photo credit Timothy Rider

Philip Samuels, chemical engineer (left) and Anthony Di Stasio, lead project officer (right), both members of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, look at seven different fuze plugs designed to accommodate the IMX-101-loaded M795 155mm projectile.

National Ordnance and Ballistics Test Center – Camden, Arkansas

The US Army’s explosive formulation IMX-101 has been named one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2010” by TIME Magazine.  IMX-101 is part of a new family of explosives under development called Insensitive Munitions eXplosives (IMX).  They are significantly more stable than conventional TNT and Composition B munition fills, making them safer for troops to transport and handle.  For example, TNT typically behaves violently if subjected to an accidental stimulus, such as fire, and TNT-loaded munitions also are susceptible to enemy attack.  The IMX generation of insensitive munitions are designed to maintain chemical stability when subjected to mechanical shocks, fire, and impact by shrapnel; while performing as intended when needed.

Earlier this year, the Army team at Picatinny Arsenal and the US Marine Corps approved IMX-101 as an effective replacement to TNT in the new M795 155-millimeter artillery munition.  The Army also has endorsed IMX-101 as a suitable replacement for any large-caliber munitions requiring the energetic performance equivalent to TNT.  That decision has the potential to revolutionize the way military ordnance is stored and transported, saving lives on and off the battlefield.

The US Army Program Management – Close Combat Systems (PM-CAS) at Picatinny Arsenal managed the Research & Development (R&D) Program to identify an effective IM fill replacement for TNT.  NTS-Camden took a proactive approach by becoming involved during the R&D phase of this program.  This enabled NTS to gain a thorough understanding of our customers’, and the end users, needs and requirements.  During the R&D program, PM-CAS ultimately down-selected to three viable explosive fills for MIL-S-2105 Insensitive Munitions testing.  NTS performed all down-select MIL-S-2105 testing for two of the three IM fills; and performed qualification testing for BAE Systems, the formulator and manufacturer of IMX-101, which was the ultimate fill of choice.

NTS provided input in the test protocols and offered advanced planning for testing schedules that suited the PM-CAS program accelerated timeline.  The importance of good communication was evident during this program.  By becoming involved during the R&D state of the program, NTS quickly became an integral part of the success of all customers including the explosive manufacture, load-assemble-pack facility, PM-CAS program office, and the ultimate customer –  the US Solider.

article links….

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2029497_2030613_2029816,00.html

http://science.dodlive.mil/2010/08/17/5-ways-the-new-army-explosive-will-help-our-warfighters/

Testing of Faster, More Robust MoCA 2.0 Products Coming Soon

Calabasas, CA (August 17, 2010)…National Technical Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSC) (NTS), a leading provider of engineering services, announced today that the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA®) has extended its agreement with NTS to be the exclusive worldwide testing laboratory for MoCA product certifications for an additional 2 years.

Read more here.

The Ordnance Sciences Division within the NTS Defense Group has been fortunate this year to participate as co-authors with the NSWC Crane, Detachment Fallbrook, ESED customer and support their presentation of papers at two NDIA conferences.  The paper presentations were: “High Speed Digital Infrared Imaging of the M201A1 Grenade Fuze Initiation Train,” that was presented at the NDIA Fuze Conference in May 2010, and “Pyrotechnic Shock Loading of the M82 Percussion Primer in the M777 Light Weight Howitzer Magazine Assembly,” that was presented at the NDIA Joint Armaments Conference, also in May 2010.  More recently, Ryan Hill and Jon Conner of the NTS Ordnance Sciences Division presented a paper at the Gun Tube Tube M3 Symposium hosted by the US Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD in July 2010.  The title of this paper was “Transient Heat Transfer Model to Support Rapid Trade Studies of Machine Gun Barrel Geometries and Materials.”

The Ordnance Sciences Division at NTS recently added the capability to perform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to their suite of high end engineering analysis software tools.  The CFD software acquired included CFDesign from Blue Ridge Numerics and FloTHERM from Mentor Graphics.  CFDesign is ideally suited for general purpose internal and external flow analysis including high speed compressible flow (up to Mach 5) and can accommodate rotating projectiles such as the 81 mm HE Mortar Projectile shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. CFDesign Analysis of the External Flow Around an 81 mm Mortar Projectile at 225 fps.

FloTHERM is ideally suited for the solution of heat transfer problems incorporating conduction, convection, and radiation phenomena with complex assemblies (including electronic circuit boards) and incompressible fluids.  An example of the steady state flow induced in the surrounding air by natural convection heat transfer from an electronics enclosure is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. FloTherm Analysis of Natural Convection Through a Wall Mounted Electronics Enclosure.

Critical EMC Concepts for Meeting Radiated Immunity Requirements Seminar
An examination and discussion of the nature of external EMC influences, product enclosure design and physical artifacts of the chassis i.e. shielding and various design compromises, effects of system cabling and interconnection, external interface port design and RF referencing of supporting circuitry, and resident internal design structures that would assist/weaken external interface ports. Includes coverage of troubleshooting techniques to quickly characterize the specific issue, isolating the circuit function affected, identify point(s) of entry and transmission mechanism(s), and determining mode of propagation along with effective mitigation techniques. Visit the events page for more information and to register.