Welcome to our new Managing Director

Managing Director Opportunity

An issue faced by many customers is how to achieve the most test capacity without impacting on chamber performance. Putting the maximum test load in and still achieving even distribution and stability is a challenge when building bespoke equipment.  Airflow is key and having a good understanding of how a customer will load their product ensures the best results are achieved.

The evolving test requirements for Electric Vehicle battery packs means test specifications are constantly being pushed to new boundaries. JTS has risen to these challenges with our range of containerised test chambers. With extensive experience in the design and build of reliable high-performance bespoke environmental test chambers we provide solutions to large multi-national companies, both here in the UK and overseas.

One of the exciting things about the work we do at JTS is the fact that no two projects are the same. Customer needs can be varied and sometimes the solution seems impossible, but most are issues that can be resolved, especially if JTS are invited into discussions at the early stages of a project.  We have worked through an extensive list of site complication over the course of supplying chambers all over the UK – few are new to us.

JTS have recently worked with a great customer who needed help to resolve a dilemma. They were in the process of relocating to a fantastic new facility but their current chamber was just not up to being moved again and the existing cooling plant was extremely dated and inefficient. The project had lost valuable time in the pre-planning stage and delivery was getting critical, so the customer needed to find someone that would be able to design, build and install the chamber in a tight time frame.

TEST CHAMBER SPECIALISTS Engineered Solutions, designed and built in Britain James Technical Services is an established independent, specialist manufacturer – designing and building high-performance environmental test chambers for a wide variety of industries. Our mission is to work closely with our customers to provide innovative solutions for their product development and quality assurance. As such, we are delighted to have been working on a project with Grayson Thermal Systems who is the market-leading supplier of cooling, HVAC and e-mobility systems across a variety of industries. The design brief was to build a large environmental test chamber to provide controlled temperature conditions between -30°C and +55°C with some test loads dissipating up to 30kw. The combination of a ceiling-mounted cooling unit, fitted with three EC fans and a speed-controlled Ecostar Bitzer condensing unit ensure maximum efficiency in full and part load operations. Double doors and a removable aluminium ramp give easy access to a test area that is 2.8m wide x 3.8m deep and 2m high. The high load-bearing anti-slip floor is fitted with drainage points to facilitate the safe containment of test fluids used within the customer processes. One wall of the room is fitted with an inlet and an outlet port allowing the customer to connect their test product up to an external conditioned temperature and humidity cyclone air supply. This cyclone air is mixed and conditioned in an insulated enclosure adjacent to the main test area where humidity is introduced via a steam lance. To give full testing flexibility two insulated stainless steel bungs are provided to isolate the cyclone system when it is not required. As with any bespoke design, it is key that the customer interface is accurate, informative and easy to navigate, so for this JTS use the Watlow F4T touch screen programmable controller which permits custom screens to be created. Taking full advantage of ethernet connectivity the chamber can be run and monitored from a PC anywhere on the network. With the chamber installed and commissioned, Grayson Thermal Systems can look forward to a future of reliable testing backed by our after-sales support for scheduled maintenance and calibration, with a quick efficient response should a breakdown occur. The full magazine is available to view at https://joom.ag/Ku6I

The chambers operate by controlling the parameters of temperature and humidity, with a good airflow being an important part in achieving even distribution and uniformity. Temperature Control To achieve a set level of temperature the chamber must be able to both heat and cool to achieve and control at the desired level. Heating – this is done using electrical heating elements sized accordingly to the chamber specification and positioned in the airflow to give even distribution and uniformity. Cooling – this is done using a mechanical cooling system with close loop control. The main parts of a single stage cooling system are compressor, condenser, expansion valve, solenoid valves and cooling coil (Evaporator). Evaporators are sized to achieve a specific cooling duty and are generally located in a conditioning plenum to give even distribution into the test area. A single stage system will achieve temperatures down to -40°C. A cascade system is a two stage cooling system and has the addition of a second compressor. The system uses two refrigerants, one type for the first stage and another for the second stage. A cascade system will achieve temperatures down to -65°C. Humidity Control To achieve a set level of humidity the chamber must be able to both humidify and dehumidify in order to achieve and control at the desired level. Humidity – this is done by introducing steam into the test area, the steam is generated outside the test area and is pulsed into the conditioning plenum in a controlled manner. Dehumidity – this is done by creating a controlled cold surface using the main refrigeration cooling system, moisture from the turbulent airflow is then condensed on to this cold surface. All test chamber utilise these basic components and it is the expertise at JTS that pulls together the right combinations to ensure that the chambers we supply meet the customer specification. Please get in contact to discuss your test chamber requirements, if one of our standard machines doesn’t meet the test specification we will be able to size a bespoke build that definitely will.

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