Course Outlines
Short courses that can be held at your facility. Click on the subjects below for related course outlines:
Download ERI's complete course listing in PDF.
- Acoustics
- Calibration
- Clean Rooms
- Climatics
- Cooling of Electronics
- Contaminants and Corrosion
- COTS
- Design
- Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
- Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
- ESS
- HALT and HASS
- Machinery Health Monitoring
- Measurement
- Modal Testing
- Pressure
- Reliability
- Servohydraulic
- Spec (Specification, Test)
- Strain
- Stress
- Vibration & Shock
Acoustics
ACO 501 - Basic Acoustics
Basic acoustics, vibration and noise, instrumentation, measurement procedures and standards, test spaces, acoustic materials, laboratory demonstrations, data reduction, data analysis, setting up a test program, documentation and reporting.
NOISE 510 - Basic acoustics, vibration and noise, instrumentation, measurement procedures and standards, test spaces, acoustic materials, laboratory demonstrations, data reduction, data analysis, setting up a test program, documentation and reporting.
Calibration
PRE 501 - Dynamic Pressure Measurements and Calibration
There are many ways to get bad data. This short course details how to avoid these sources of error in static and especially dynamic (changing) pressure situations. Topics include sensor selection, location, calibration and signal processing.
PRE 510 - Pressure Calibration for the Standards Laboratory
The success of any calibration or metrology program, where calibrating pressure instrumentation is a major portion of the workload, depends on the calibration of instruments, on the documentation, on data management and retention, on quality systems, and on communications within the organization.
CLI 550 - Temperature Calibration for the Standards Laboratory
The success of any calibration or metrology program, where calibrating temperature instrumentation is a major portion of the workload, depends on the calibration of instruments, on the documentation, on data management and retention, on quality systems, and on communications within the organization.
Clean Rooms
PAR 501 - Airborne Particle Measurement Procedures
Airborne particles are a "no no" in several engineering situations. These include "clean rooms" where microelectronics units are fabricated, food processing plants, pharmacological plants, etc. The number of particles per cubic meter must be accurately counted.
Climatics
CLI 501 - Climatic Environmental Testing
Some hardware (such as military) must be used in unfavorable climatic conditions of high/low temperature, high/low humidity, at altitude, underwater, in sand-and-dust conditions and other potentially damaging situations. Using special-purpose environmental test chambers, the survivability of hardware is assessed.
CLI 550 - Temperature Calibration for the Standards Laboratory
The success of any calibration or metrology program, where calibrating temperature instrumentation is a major portion of the workload, depends on the calibration of instruments, on the documentation, on data management and retention, on quality systems, and on communications within the organization.
Cooling of Electronics
COOL 500 - Liquid Cooling for Electronics
Understand how to apply liquid cooling design techniques to electronics packaging of Avionics Equipment. An appreciation for liquid cooling design and system challenges.
Contaminants and Corrosion
CON 501 - Contaminants and Moisture can Disrupt your Electronics
This course examines the chemical root causes (surface contamination) of many poorly understood electronic failures. Conformal coatings, subject to in-service failure, must be tested realistically.
COR 501 - Avoiding Corrosion
Many naturally-occurring materials, as well as certain man-made materials, are known to attack man-made structures ranging from highway bridges to electronic hardware, particularly when moisture is present. We discuss how to avoid these problems.
COTS
COTS 501 - Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) of COTS/NDE
(Commercial Off The Shelf/Non-developmental Electronic hardware) ALT aims at forcing weak elements to reveal themselves by failing, in order that that a product can be strengthened. The goal is hardware (mainly electronic) that will not fail in military service.
Design
DES 501 - Design for Vibration and Shock Testing of Telecommunications Equipment
For designers of products intended for harsh usage and transportation environments or whose prototypes will undergo accelerated stress testing (AST, ESS, HALT, HASS, etc.)
DES 512 - Ruggedizing of Military COTS/NDE (Commercial off the shelf, non-developmental hardware)
Helps designers and users of weapons systems to "toughen up" commercial equipment (mainly electronics) to withstand the rigors of military service.
Some hardware is used in conditions where vibration and shock threaten to shorten product useful life. Environmental vibration and shock tests verify strength. This course teaches practicing designers how to "ruggedize" their products to pass tests.
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
ESD 501 - Electrostatic Discharge
Whenever and wherever electronic hardware (particularly microelectronics) units are handled (as for example during manufacture), electrical static charges build up. Improperly discharged, they can seriously damage electronic devices.
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
EMC 510 - Electromagnetic Compatibility
Course Goals:
- To present and explain the essential concepts of EMI (electromagnetic interference) phenomena and control.
- To explain the strengths and shortcomings of EMI control methods and components.
- To present a number of EMI prediction tools.
- To demonstrate in the classroom a number of EMI troubleshooting and measurement techniques.
ESS
ESS 501 - Optimizing Environmental Stress Screening (ESS)
Analysis of vibration-caused failures during HALT, ESS and HASS leads to significant savings in retest time and in design improvement.
HALT and HASS
HALT 511 - Step Stress for HALT, ESS and HASS
Stepwise increases of stress applied to developmental hardware, aimed at forcing weak elements to reveal themselves by failing, such that they can be strengthened. The goal is hardware that will not fail!
Machinery Health Monitoring
MHM 501 - Machinery health monitoring (condition monitoring) of rotating machinery
For plant maintenance personnel (engineers and technicians) striving for highest plant reliability.
Measurement
DATA 501 - Environmental Data Acquisition
Basic measurement concepts, transfer functions, linearity, frequency content, waveshape reproduction, the Wheatstone Bridge, non-self generating sensors, self generating sensors, noise documentation and control, information conversion, sampled measurements, data validation.
Modal Testing
MOD 501 - Fundamentals of Modal Testing
Modal testing involves deliberate exciting (shaking or bumping) a structure (or a model of a structure) such as a bridge, an airplane, an automobile. During and immediately after that excitation, we monitor the motion at numerous response points on the structure. Aided by a computer, we seek to understand the many patterns (modes) in which the structure responds easily. Hopefully, modal testing precedes production and avoids problems. Or modal testing may explain an observed misoperation.
MOD 502 - Introduction to Modal Testing
"What is a mode?" and "Why do I need to either calculate or measure our modes?" Do your engineers think they know the answers to these questions? Misconceptions abound. Calculating or measuring modes cost time and money; the course presents trade offs that assist leader decision on amount of modal testing required.
Pressure
PRE 501 - Dynamic Pressure Measurements and Calibration
There are many ways to get bad data. This short course details how to avoid these sources of error in static and especially dynamic (changing) pressure situations. Topics include sensor selection, location, calibration and signal processing.
PRE 510 - Pressure Calibration for the Standards Laboratory
The success of any calibration or metrology program, where calibrating pressure instrumentation is a major portion of the workload, depends on the calibration of instruments, on the documentation, on data management and retention, on quality systems, and on communications within the organization.
Reliability
REL 501 - Reliability and Dependability – Can they be Proven?
We will consider four basic stress categories that are known to degrade electronic equipment over time.
Servohydraulic
SHT 501 - Servohydraulic Testing Technology
Test methods and practices used with servo-hydraulic testing during land vehicle product development; includes test design, setup and operation.
Spec (Specification, Test)
SPEC 501 – Developing Random Vibration Tests from Field Data
This course guides engineers who are given field vibration data (spacecraft, launch vehicles, aircraft, land vehicles, sea vehicles) and who are tasked to develop a random vibration test.
Strain
STR 501 - Strain Gages
Change in physical dimension, at particular locations on structures, tells us what the structure is doing, how it is responding to static or dynamic loading. Gages must be properly selected and properly attached. Gages, cabling and readout can contribute to errors. This course helps you to avoid these errors.
Stress
STRESS 501 – Introduction to Stress Analysis
This course leads mechanical designers of such structures as buildings, vehicles and machinery to an understanding of structural requirements and how to insure that those requirements are met. For practicing stress analysts, it provides a review. For recent engineering graduates it provides understanding of “the real world”.
DEV 501 - Reliability Improvement through Step Stress
Stepwise increases of stress (most commonly random vibration and temperature) are applied to developmental hardware. The goal is to force weak elements to reveal themselves by failing. Once revealed, they can be strengthened. The goal is hardware that will not fail!
Vibration & Shock
V&S 501 - Basic Vibration Measurements
For those involved in data acquisition, metrology, calibration and in MHM/CM (machinery health monitoring/condition monitoring) of machinery.
V&S 510 - Aerospace vibration and shock testing
For test personnel and designers in military, aircraft, satellite and missile fields, launch vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.
V&S 511 - Automotive vibration and shock testing
For test personnel and designers in automobile, motor truck, bus and railway fields, vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.
V&S 512 - Vibration and Shock Test Fixture Design, Fabrication and Usage
Design, fabrication and proper usage and storage of intermediate structures that attach DUTs (devices under test) to shaker tables or shock test machine platforms.
V&S 530 - Vibration and Shock Testing from Recorded Data
Whereas most random vibration testing is still controlled in the frequency domain, using prescribed spectra, newer tests are controlled in the time domain, using recordings of actual service experience.
Download ERI's complete course listing in PDF.