The design, fabrication, installation & evaluation of the Balance Probe Monitor for large centrifuges at a national laboratory facility

Balance Probe Monitors were designed, fabricated, installed, and evaluated at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for the 22,600 g kg (50,000 g lb) direct drive electromotor driven large centrifuges. These centrifuges provide a high onset/decay rate g environment. The Balance Probe Monitor is physically located near a centrifuge’s Capacitance Probe, a crucial sensor for the centrifuge’s sustainability. The Balance Probe Monitor will validate operability of the centrifuge. Most importantly, it is used for triggering a kill switch under the condition that the centrifuge displacement value exceeds allowed tolerances. During operational conditions, the Capacitance Probe continuously detects the structural displacement of the centrifuge and an adjoining AccuMeasure 9000 translates this displacement into an output voltage. [1]