Development of a powermeter for a bicycle- I

Abstract

The purpose of the report is to present the knowledge and experience the author has learned throughout the Final Year Project.

The objective of the project is to build a powering which can meet the several of requirements as follows: 1. Low cost compare with counterparts in the market. 2. Provide the power output with accuracy. 3. High performance guaranteed in harsh environment.

This FYP is the continuation of last year; the seniors had done a lot of contributions in prototype designing and undergoing a vast number of calibrations. Base on that, the designer later built another innovated version which add more features into it and make it more commercial.

The whole report is divided into two parts: first part will introduce the dynamic test rig design while second part focuses on the powermeter strain gauge calibrations. The whole system make up of two main components: strain gauge and Control PCB. Strain gauge will convert force applied by rider into electronic signal. After Control PCB processing, the receiver will display real time power output from cyclist. One main task of the author is to calibrate strain gauge and assess its performance with ZMD chip. In chapter 4 the author has elaborated on what kind and how strain gauge worked in the project and shares his personal experience and knowledge regarding the calibrations.

In conclusion, this FYP had provided the author a unique and diversified experience needed for future work. It trained the author on problems analyzing and solving skills, taught him how to cooperate and communicate with expert from outside. Moreover it demonstrated that team work is essential for a project success.