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David G Loucks, Ph.D, PE, CEM
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Projects
Software Development and Control Systems
- Decoded, documented and developed integrated software solution to translate native device protocol and native device file formats. The method allowed those files to be automatically generated from ERP systems. From there the files loaded into multiple brands and models of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). See my LinkedIn article for overview of how this system works. As part of this software development, refamiliarized myself with these device's native programming tools, methods and functionality:
- Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories "3-digit" devices (e.g. SEL-351, -351S, -710, -710-5, -735, -751, -751A, etc.)
- Familiar with SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet software
- Multilin 369, 469, 850 and 869 protective relays
- Familiar with EnerVista software
- Belden / Hirschmann RS20, BRS30 (BobCat) Managed Ethernet switches
- Familiar with browser based, command line (CLI) and HiDiscovery programming
- Cyber Sciences SER-3200 sequence of events recorder
- Schneider PM8000 Power Quality Meter
- Eaton Power Xpert Surge Protective Device (PXSPD)
- Eaton E-Series / SEG Electronics (EDR-3000, -5000, ETR-4000, -5000, EMR-4000, etc.) protective relays
- Familiar with PowerPort-E software
- Eaton DG1, DM1 VFDs
- Familiar with Power Xpert InControl and Firmware Upgrade Tool (FUT)
- Eaton / Danfoss SVX / CPX / SPX VFDs
- Familiar the 9000X Drive software
- Eaton C440, C441, C445 overload relays
- Eaton S811+ soft start motor control
- Eaton PXG900, PX Dashboard (PXDBP) and PX Dashboard Lite (PXDBL) protocol translators/gateways
- Eaton Power Defense Molded Case breakers with PXR20, PXR20D or PXR25 electronic trip units
- Familiar with Power Xpert Protection Manager (PXPM) software
- Eaton Magnum DS circuit breakers with Digitrip 1150, Digitrip 520MC, or PXR20 or 25 electronic trip units
- Wrote a DT1150 programming tool in VBA to work with the DCMS/NTLT automated file configuration system (since Eaton does not offer a software tool to program or backup/restore DT1150 programs)(link)
- Eaton Power Xpert Meters (PXM350, PXM1000, PXM1100, PXM1200, PXM1300, PXM2250, 2260, 2270, 2280, 2290, PXM3000, PXM4000, PXM6000, PXM8000)
- Eaton Branch Circuit Monitor (PXBCM) and Multi-Point (PXMP) meters
- Eaton XC-303 PLC (CoDeSys)
- Eaton / ESA Automation EW100 HMI
- Eaton ATC-300 and ATC-900 transfer switch controllers
- Eaton Addressable Relay II
- Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories "3-digit" devices (e.g. SEL-351, -351S, -710, -710-5, -735, -751, -751A, etc.)
- all combined with expertise in software design
- (full stack from UI to back end DB design),
- device driver design from assembly, C through high level languages
- Example: IEEE COMTRADE waveform parsing and display written in VBA (link to documentation and Excel VBA source code)
- Example: Modbus RTU driver written from scratch in VB and VBA (link to documentation and source code)
- Example: Eaton Modbus MINT (Modular INCOM Network Translator) online/offline configuration tool (link to documentation and Excel VBA source code)
- Example: ENCORP GPC programmer (wrote this code to allow a user to program the GPC via the Modbus port rather than the Lonworks port as was required by the ENCORP NST program [which required a Lonworks gateway]) Older program but introduced the concept of scanning all available ports on a computer (direct or via modem) to detect if a GPC was connected, and if so, connect and log in (link)
- Example: Created harmonic trend decoder and viewer for Eaton PXM4000/6000/8000 power quality meters (link)
- tool and techniques,
- Example: Using Excel to display phasor diagrams tied to 3-phase waveform displays (link)
- Example: Using Excel to created stacked phasor diagrams (link)
- Example: REACT web app with back end services to Azure API
- Example: JavaScript app to add geolocation within web page
- Wrote multi-factor authentication library for web app built around LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)
- Multi-threaded, interrupt driven C and C++ programming on ESP32 using VS Code and PlatformIO via both Arduino and ESP-IDF frameworks
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) programming and troubleshooting (e.g. Nordic Semiconductor nRF Connect with nRF52840 BLE/USB dongle and Wireshark, BLE on Raspberry Pi, LightBlue on iOS, BLE Hero on iOS)
- These and many other techniques (see video library)
- control systems, SCADA, networking and cybersecurity
- Example: developed device driver for first-to-market HMI that talked natively to Siemens S5 PLC via 20 mA loop serial connection.
- Familiar with common commercial, industrial and utility network protocols and troubleshooting using network tools common to those protocols (Wireshark, etc.)
- Write PowerBI applications with interface to Azure, Excel, SharePoint / Teams, and well as hosted platforms (e.g. shared Linux VMs) to perform cost of non-conformance analysis on large IT programs
- Wrote proprietary (patent pending) data science analysis on large (several hundred gigabyte files that each contain data sets of several hundred million rows) using the Python language within the Pandas / Anaconda / Miniconda / Jupyter / Visual Studio Code Notebook development environments
- Provide technical support for obsolete Westinghouse Numa-Logic PLCs via a web site created just for those products (link)
- API / web developer (PHP, Python, JavaScript, React, CSS, HTML5, MySQL, Bootstrap, FTP/SFTP, Raspberry PI, hosted Linux VMs [e.g. https://www.hostgator.com/], etc.), PC based VMs [e.g Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager]
- Designed ac digital input circuit that would feed into a micro. Need was to have this input circuit operate properly in environments where energy from energized lines was capacitively coupled onto "de-energized" conductors. This is a key difference between an ac vs a dc digital input design. The latter doesn't need to be concerned with capacitively coupled signals. This ac digital input design discriminates between these "phantom" voltages versus when the full ac voltage is applied to the line when it is actually energized from an ac source. The micro accurately detects an ON only when the input is energized from a true ac sourced galvanically connected to the wire and not when it is "energized" from capacitively coupled signals.
- Familiar with, and wrote test applications on, Robot Frameworks, Appium, AutoHotKey, Android Debug Bridge, Vysor, scrcpy, Let's View, SciTE4AutoHotKey, VS Code and other test engineering tools for app testing on both computers and iOS and Android mobile devices.
- Built and managed Jira, Confluence and Click-Up sites to track projects
Power Systems Analysis
- Designed and developed several kinds of differential ground fault detection and isolation schemes for mission critical sites around the world (example: link)
- Example: Patent received for high resistance grounding sensing and locating using residual ground methods (no zero sequence CT or extra analog input) (link)
- Chief engineer within Eaton's electrical sector with broad expertise in
- power systems analysis
- (coordination [T/M, ETU and protective relays][link],
- short circuit [link], arc flash [IEEE-1584, [link]],
- load flow / motor starting (link),
- power factor,
- harmonics (including summation and cancelation [link]),
- differential relaying and CT error [link], BYZ conductor spacing, saturation calculations, etc.),
- application and commissioning of electrical distribution equipment / switchgear used in
- commercial construction (e.g high-rise, hospital, military),
- data center and
- industrial (e.g. upstream oil and gas).
- the National Electrical Code, by state
- transfer switch and generator paralleling, UPS and utility intertie (IEEE-1547) systems
- Programming of generator and intertie relays including IEEE - 27, 32, 40, 59, 81 functions (and of course 50/51)
- interpretation of waveform capture files for
- fault location (voltage drop per unit of current - impedance on radial, network or back-fed (e.g. DG/DER) systems)
- prediction, identification and mitigation of resonance and ferroresonance
- circuit simulation,
- Example: LTSPICE (link)(link2)(link3) + Excel VBA circuit simulator with quantized values to simulate various resolution A/D (link)
- Derivation of wire temperature by size by ambient by current magnitude using NEC and IEEE Brown Book (IEEE 399) data
- Used for calculating at what current wire sized for tray cable would be outside of switchboard terminal max temperature
- Fault locating on high resistance grounded systems by interrogating electronic overload relays and requesting which see the HRG pulsing current and automatically locating the fault
- machine learning analysis of power system data to identify faults
- Used common machine learning techniques (scikit-learn Python library tools such as Isolation Forest and DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise)) as well as my own custom filters and analysis techniques to process slow speed SCADA data to identify abnormal arcing within underground networks
- Familiar with various ANSI, IEC and UL standards
- ANSI C37.04, C37.06, C37.09, C57.13, C37.017, IEEE STD 4, IEC 62271-100, 62271-200, etc.
- power systems analysis
- This experience has allowed me to understand and navigate both the high level goals of a system as well as drop into a very detailed level as needed to help design and/or troubleshoot.
- Maintained a repository / forum of application notes on those topics at https://pps2.com/smf
- Mentored and developed curriculum to train internal (Eaton) and external (customers) on technologies and techniques
- (e.g. ferroresonance: prevention and mitigation,
- GF isolation techniques,
- early warning of impending failure detection methods,
- power systems analysis using CYME, etc.).
- Experience with program and project management of large inter-departmental / corporate-wide / mission-critical software projects
- Spec writing and interpretation
- Drawing development and review (proposal, C/A, as-built)
Other
- Life-longer learner of all things science
- Read Spanish at an intermediate level (e.g. reading Bible in various Spanish translations, but need to look up words, especially the Old Testament). Also able to listen to normal conversation rate spoken word at "limited professional proficiency" level (e.g. I listen to Spanish language podcasts and YouTube channels for 20-30 minutes every day, and depending on the topic discussed, I understand anywhere from 80%-100%)
- AVL (audio, video, lighting) leader at my church (https://westridge.cc)
- Recruit, train and schedule:
- Front of house and broadcast audio engineers
- ProPresenter operators
- Theater lighting control programmers and operators
- Video switchers, directors and camera operators
- Program, configure, coordinate, troubleshoot plus train volunteers on FOH and broadcast digital mixers, StreamDecks, PTZ cameras, Black Magic video switcher macros, lighting cues, media, AVB and Dante network routing and gateways, Waves (plug-ins and SuperRack) and ProPresenter systems
- Designed, purchased, programmed and installed 10 camera auditorium system (switcher, video deck, remote control cameras, camera control, graphics / lower-thirds computer interface plus multi-location Stream Deck interfaces, SDI to webcam for import to OBS for multi-platform [Restream.io, FB, YouTube, Vimeo, Church Online, etc] streaming through MAC and BMD hardware and software
- Designed, purchased, programmed and installed 400+ channel DMX based theater lighting system
- Created custom DMX to analog (0-10V) interface with relay bypass to allow people not familiar with lighting control system to activate preset lighting levels without using the lighting control console or software
- Recruit, train and schedule:
- Electronic designer and hobbyist (Raspberry PI4, ESP32, STM32, analog circuitry and Nordic Semiconductor nRF based systems)
| Email: dgl@lec.engineer |