Acoustic resonance detection using statistical methods of voltage envelope characterization in metal halide lamps

Acoustic resonance (AR) phenomenon occurs in metal halide lamps and can cause light flicker, lamp arc bending and rotation, lamp extinction, and in the worst case, arc tube explosion. This study takes place in the context of developing electronic ballasts with robust AR detection and avoidance mechanisms. To this end, a lock-in amplifier is used to measure and characterize lamp voltage root mean square (rms) short-term fluctuations. Statistical criteria based on the standard deviation of this rms value are proposed to assess AR presence and classify its severity. A set of metal halide lamps from different manufacturers and with different powers were tested. The average electrical power and AR level are controlled by adjusting the lamp operating frequency of high-frequency electronic ballast. The proposed criteria enable classifying healthy (without AR) and faulty (with AR) cases based upon either a two-dimensional plane or a boxplot. Regardless of lamp operating power, the results from this study show that the voltage rms variations and the defined criteria are significantly correlated with AR level

Innovative solutions for acoustic resonance characterization in metal halide lamps

Metal halide lamp is one kind of the most compact high-performance light sources. Because of their good color rendering index and high luminous efficacy, these lamps are often preferred in locations where color and efficacy are important, such as supermarkets, gymnasiums, ice rinks and sporting arenas. Unfortunately, acoustic resonance phenomenon occurs in metal halide lamps and causes light flicker, lamp arc bending and rotation, lamp extinction and in the worst case, arc tube explosion, when the lamps are operated in high-frequency bands. This thesis takes place in the context of developing electronic ballasts with robust acoustic resonance detection and avoidance mechanisms. To this end, several envelope detection methods such as the multiplier circuit, rectifier circuit, and lock-in amplifier, are proposed to characterize fluctuations of acoustic resonance. Furthermore, statistical criteria based on the standard deviation of these fluctuations are proposed to assess acoustic resonance occurrence and classify its severity. The proposed criteria enable classifying between no acoustic resonance and acoustic resonance cases based upon either a two-dimensional plane, a histogram or a boxplot. These analyses are confirmed by the study of spectral variations (variations of the spectral irradiance and colorimetric parameters) as well. Standard deviations and relative standard deviations of these variations are also correlated with the presence of acoustic resonance. The results from this study show that whatever voltage envelope variations or spectral variations are significantly influenced by acoustic resonance phenomena. A set of metal halide lamps from different manufacturers and with different powers are tested in our experiments. We concluded that our designed multiplier and rectifier circuits for acoustic resonance detection have the same sensitivity as the lock-in amplifier, paving the way for the implementation of this function directly into the ballast circuit board