CREMIE

The project begins, the participants prepare the proposal and start the meetings with a possible collaborator belonging to the Universitat Jaume I. The main researcher requests an offer from Delegada Técnica S.L. (Deletec) for the acquisition of a second magnetic field meter for the development of some of the software improvements. The offer is received and the corresponding item is included in the budget requested in the proposal.

The responsible researcher prepares a virtual space for project documentation accessible to the team.

Participating researchers prepare a list of potential improvements to the software. The following ideas stand out:

Multilanguage version (Spanish, English).

Migration of the source code to a more permissive scientific language (python).

Improved data entry, data table treatment, import and export, definition of enclosures.

The responsible researcher prepares a virtual space for project documentation accessible to the team.

As a result of the initial analysis, it is proposed to achieve two major objectives during the project, one in each year.

• Year 2020: Software improvements (new interface with improved options)
• Year 2021: Software expansion (new modules for transformers and complete lines)

Se comienza con la búsqueda de información acerca de las mejores herramientas y lenguajes para el desarrollo de la versión mejorada del software. Se proponen algunas ideas:

• Python Language (BSD License)
• Useful libraries: numpy, matplotlib, plotly, scipy, tkinter
• Other possible languages: C, C++ or C# (more complex), stay with Matlab (not affordable license), web portal (complicated and requires internet access)

The researcher responsible for the project begins the development of this web page for the project and prepares its publication to carry it out in 2020.

The participants hold several meetings by videoconference with the technological partner and begin to carry out simulations for future experimentation in the laboratory, given the adverse health situation. The month is complicated due to confinement and the inability to go to the university to work. Therefore, this month documentation and essays are prepared for the future and progress is planned during the year..

Given the situation, it is decided to delay the development of the improvements in the interface until the resolution is published and progress is made in other tasks of the annuity. Thus, the participants decide to start planning the output of results. Some interesting ideas are proposed within the general line described in the proposal. The following proposals stand out:

• The software should allow the generation of some kind of short report.
• Graphical output should be expanded to include graphics sometimes required in facility project justifications, such as contour graphics, viewed in 3D or in plan. In addition, the drawing of conductors and enclosures should be improved.
• The calculation plane should not necessarily be horizontal, it may even be an uneven surface. Given the great difficulty for the user to enter this data, it is proposed as an option of special interest for airlines to define a terrain profile under the line and study the field on said profile and horizontal extensions in the direction transverse to the route of the line.
• The inclusion of transformers is the main improvement of the software and the results to be generated at this point must also be considered.

The resolution remains unpublished, so the researchers themselves begin with planning and programming tasks to advance the final structure of the software and allow meeting the objectives of the first year with the requested budget once the resolution is published, if aid is granted. Among the tasks carried out, the following stand out:

• A detailed example of the calculation algorithm is developed to ensure the correctness of some aspects.
• Experiments are designed to perform during the project and check accuracy.
• Purchases of small inventory material and consumables are planned for laboratory tests.
• Matlab versions of the menus and examples of a possible design of the improved application are programmed.

The situation improves and the university can be accessed again. It is used to carry out some tests that allow to ensure the precision of the software in basic cases (flat single-phase installation).

Investigators contact the AVI when they consider it crucial to continue to know the status of the resolution and they are informed that it will be resolved shortly.

During the month, the participating researchers go up to 3 times to a large substation in Albacete to find out in detail the internal composition of large transformers, taking advantage of the dismantling of two of them after an accident. They take advantage of these trips to take notes and plan the new transformer module that current users of the software have demanded so much. These trips, which include 3 trips and an overnight stay for the two people who make up the team, cannot be attributed to the project either, since they choose to use their own vehicle due to the health situation and the disability of the researcher in charge. Thus, the researchers bear the cost while waiting for the resolution to decide the future of the project.

At the end of the month, the last working day, the researchers receive the excellent news of the granting of aid from the AVI, with which they decide to carry out the project in its entirety and begin to search for the necessary resources.

This is the month of vacation and none of the participants can allocate any time to the project. However, both agree to advance organizational and programming tasks as far as possible, given the good news received.

Participants have various meetings by videoconference with colleagues from the Polytechnic University of Valencia to understand the operation of this type of subsidy. A number of things are clear from these meetings and from the exhaustive review of the documentation related to the project:

• In the first place, the own personnel participating in the project are the researchers themselves, no one will be hired. In addition, it is found that neither of the two participating researchers can receive any liquidation of the project funds throughout its development. Thus, this item should be understood as an adjustment and compensation for the allocation of hours to the project that could leave some remnant in the future for the sustainability of the research of the participants.
• Second, the scheduling assistance tasks will be subcontracted to a company within the budget line as External Consulting and Technical Assistance Services.
• It is clarified that the heading of Accommodation and travel in public means of interurban transport of own staff does not include transport costs in own vehicle, so it is assumed that said subsidy will be lost, since the main researcher considers it necessary to continue making trips in your car due to your disability and health status.
• It is clarified that the item of Investment in small scientific equipment and other inventory material does allow the complete amortization of small equipment, so the forecast that was made can be executed (magnetic field meter and accessories).

This is the month that becomes key to assess the viability of the project. During the month the advance of the first annuity is obtained to begin to execute the expenses. In addition, a contract is signed with the company Ingenix Automation S.L. to assist in the development of valued software. Although initially all possible problems arise, the month really ends with good prospects for the project and it is decided to continue until the end. From this moment, there is no turning back.

The main achievements achieved thanks to the work of the participants and the assistance of the technological partner and the external advisory company are mentioned below:

• Secure structure in the cloud for communications and exchange of information and documentation (box).
• Translation of the main CRMag calculation engine to evaluate the feasibility of developing the improved version in a new language. The result is positive.
• Development of internal improvements in the algorithm to multiply the calculation speed by 3 (an unexpected improvement and of great value).
• Comprehensive search of IDEs, libraries and licenses necessary for the development of the improved application.
• Configuration of the programming environment on all the necessary computers and basic development of a basic and non-functional copy of the first interface.
• Request for detailed information to the supplier of the magnetic field measurement equipment and possible accessories to carry out the purchase soon.

The participating researchers dedicate a large number of hours to find out all the internal functioning of the aid at the University. They discover that they must impute, one by one, to what task they dedicated each of the hours of the year 2020 (7.5 hours each day). This task is easier thanks to this web page, which is currently offline and in development, and thanks to the electronic agenda in which the participants register their classes and tutorials. Even so, it is an arduous task, especially due to the precarious application in which they must enter the hours making an exorbitant number of clicks to complete the data of a simple week. The level of detail is such that on a day like March 18 that was non-working they must enter 7.5 hours of absence from work, while on other days they must enter the same number of hours spread over different projects, tasks of the themselves, teaching work and others. From now on, each week, the two researchers spend about half an hour entering the data for that week into the application.

The project is perfectly on track. Tasks 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.1 and 6.1 have been started (and in many cases completed). This website is ready to be published and publicized. The AVI has been contacted and its logo has been received in order to properly disseminate the help received. Has been talking to the Centro de Formación Permanente de la UPV and to Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Industriales de la Comunitat Valenciana, así como con la Agència Valenciana de la Innovació (AVI) to analyze what would be the best way to implement the expenditure of the item of Publication and dissemination in business areas of the project results. Given the health situation, it is not possible to hold a dissemination session at the UPV at the moment, so finally, an agreement is reached with the College to disseminate the status of the project through its website between October and December. The main researcher designs the following banner to link to this entire website and to disseminate the results of the project through the College portal.

Regarding spending, the offer has been received and accepted for most of the works budgeted for 2020 by Ingenix. The purchase of the new magnetic field meter is executed without including some accessories that are considered to be of little use, so a quantity of small inventory equipment is reserved to complement the equipment for some tests.

At the same time, although outside the project budget, the main researcher designs and requests the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering to create a new subject called Electromagnetic experiments and their theoretical foundations, in which they hope to be able to share and disseminate part of the learning to the students. achieved thanks to the project.

There is a meeting with Professor Dr. Enrique Belenguer Balaguer to talk about the software and some experiments to be carried out (measurements in transformers, measurements of three-dimensional geometries, etc.). Enrique will be in charge of preparing the corresponding report, invoiced within the heading of Experimental development contracts with technology or research centers.

We can call this the month of expenditure. A large part of the planned invoices are executed. The slowness of the purchasing process from the UPV is verified, which makes the planning restructure to complete all the orders during November and be able to have everything paid in December. The purchases made are detailed below:

• Various consumable materials are purchased from electricity and hardware for the experiments (cables, shielded cables to try to measure inductions by the screens, connection elements, insulating tape, adhesive tape, wood for the assembly of experiments avoiding metallic elements that could influence the magnetic field measurement, rods, screws, soft material to pad certain metallic elements and other similar elements).
• The new magnetic field meter budgeted in the proposal phase of the project is purchased, along with some accessories such as the GPS locator and all the necessary elements for data processing (cable, CD, etc.).
• Plastics for 3D printing are purchased to be able to print custom fixtures, guides and other accessories for some trials.
• Dissemination is contracted through the School's website through the banner developed for the following two months.
• Consulting and technical advice is contracted with Ingenix for the development of some of the tasks that remain in the 2020 annuity:
  • Planning of data entry improvement actions
  • Development of improvements in the new interface
• The following works are also contracted with the UJI, in line with the role foreseen for the technological partner:
  • Functional analysis of the tool
  • Experimental verification of the results of the tool in two standard installations
  • Proposal for improvements to the tool

The results of the contracted works are very positive. Very interesting proposals have been developed for the hierarchy of menus, the design of improved modules or the development of new modules. There are small improvements that would positively affect the input of data by the user, such as the interchangeable length or coordinate panel that is outlined below.

It is proposed to significantly expand the menus to facilitate the entry and processing of data by the user according to the following figure.

Many of the new options would greatly facilitate the handling of the data table and aspects related to the project or the import and export. It is also proposed a complete redesign of the display panel and fully expand the treatment of the enclosures, as shown in the following figure.

Finally, as can be seen in the previous screen, a Status bar (status bar) could be added at the bottom edge and a panel for representations within the interface, above the data table. For the latter, help from Ingenix is expected to explore the possibilities.

At the end of the month, the new magnetic field meter is received and a face-to-face meeting is held with the technology partner, always using their own vehicle due to sanitary conditions, as there has been a new outbreak that has forced access to the campus to be closed to the students and to return to online teaching temporarily. In this meeting, experiments are planned to be carried out jointly with the UJI professor who collaborates with the main researchers..

Also, at the end of the month, very interesting advances are made thanks to the work of Ingenix. There is already a version of the basic interface translated into python with some buttons working. A library (tksheet) has even been found to replicate the data table that will significantly improve its functionality and handling by the user..

The R + D + i Management Service informs the project researchers of the urgency of having the expenditure made at the beginning of December. The principal investigator develops a customized tool for accounting and decides to execute the remaining items in the month of November, if possible. In the first place, the consulting and technical advice is contracted with Ingenix for the development of the rest of the tasks planned for 2020:

Developing a results menu

Desarrollo de un menú de resultados

Part of these tasks have begun, for which the researchers thank Ingenix for their professionalism. Thus, it is decided to contract the remaining tasks. However, the researchers confirm with the UPV that it is also possible to contract some additional task with Ingenix, so that, in the second half of the month, consulting and technical advice is contracted for the development of a new task that would expand the two tasks last hired:

Improvements in the graphical representation and preview in real time.

It is not known if it will be possible, but if a real-time preview can be developed, the program would be much easier to use, avoiding many errors, detecting them immediately and allowing the user to feel that they are getting updated information while working, by way of virtual assistant.

In order to complete the expenditure on inventory material, it was decided to complement the magnetic field measurement equipment with a small cable detector for the interior of walls (allowing the conductors to be precisely positioned when tests are contrasted with simulations) and a network analyzer to obtain three-phase currents with great precision, since with the technological partner an attempt has been made to carry out a three-phase test and there are unavoidable imbalances that must be precisely registered, not only in the current modules but also in the phases.

To complete the expenditure of consumables, various protections are purchased to be able to carry out some tests in a safe and automated way, as well as wooden elements and hardware necessary for the assemblies.

With the collaboration of the technological partner, tests related to shielding and three-phase are carried out, taking advantage of a large part of the materials and equipment acquired, of which some images are shown below.

Before the end of the month, Ingenix achieves a functional preview panel that allows to see in real time all the introduced drivers, so the prospects for software improvement are very good and expectations are being widely covered. Below is a screenshot of that utility.

The situation at the end of this month is very promising. The progress made is listed below.

Se ha etiquetado todo el material para la correcta difusión de la ayuda:

Graphical output has been improved:

Menus have been improved:

Field trials have been done for the new functionalities:

There is a multilanguage and improved version to which small adjustments are being completed:

Thus, the last month is approached with satisfaction for the results and with everything ready to evaluate the development, prepare the reports and justify all the expenses.

This last month of the first annuity is largely devoted to preparing supporting documentation. Three reports are received from Ingenix for the three tasks assigned. The UJI report of the contracted task is received. The dissemination act with the College ends, the results of which are considered satisfactory. The following image shows the results of this dissemination action, collected by Google Analytics.

As can be seen, the number of visits has been more than 150, much higher than what could be expected in a simple day at the UPV.

During the month, the design of the new modules is beginning to contract with Ingenix the necessary advice for their implementation and their integration into the interface. In addition, we are trying to obtain an executable program to check the correct compatibility of all the developments carried out.

Participants spend many hours this month on reporting and justification tasks, completing an exhaustive technical report for this first year. It describes all the achievements and the expenditure made, which has been only about € 800 less than the one budgeted, mainly due to the impossibility of allocating the cost of traveling in one's own vehicle..

The upgraded version of the software is left as a practically finished product. The necessary structure of the files with its own extension *.crmag has been defined, to be able to save projects and recover them. The real-time preview has been improved, allowing selected sections to be highlighted in gray:

In general, the evolution of the project is very satisfactory. With these results, the participants approach the second annuity with great enthusiasm.