Ice cream saves the day

Tuesday, 16 October 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Local inventor creates lightning surge diverter inspired by his father’s ice cream business

Melting ice cream is what inspired Sanka Nanayakkara to come up with a lightning surge diverter with unlimited surge handling capabilities that won him a gold at the Presidential Awards 2002, a silver at International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva in 2003 and a nomination for Sri Lanka’s esteemed Ray Awards this year.

Currently reading for his PhD in lightning detection, Nanayakkara first came up with the model during his school years. “My family had a small ice cream factory earlier. Every time there was lightning, my father had to rush down to switch off all the refrigerators and we all knew we had to maintain the temperature at a certain level to keep the ice cream from melting.

“This became a problem because even if it was in the middle of the night, my father had to go and switch off the controls.” The additional problem was that the factory was some 200 meters away from his home.

Having seen this chaos ever since he could remember, it was his idea backed by his father’s knowledge that got them working on the lightning surge detector. His father worked as a meteorologist at the Metrology Department prior to his retirement. The prototype was built during his GCE Ordinary Levels in 2000. The device developed basically consists of three units, Nanayakkara explained. The sensor unit collects information on cloud charge build-ups. It then passes this information to the control unit.

“The control unit correctly identifies the danger limit where a surge is imminent. Just before the critical moment, it commands the switching unit to isolate the load from the power lines.” Although it may sound straightforward, there were many technical issues that had to be handled over the years.

It is still not fully complete, he said, adding that improvements are being made to make the system the best it can be. Among other issues, a key problem is the fact that the system can only be checked when there is lightning. “We have to wait for not just rainfall but heavy thunderstorms. This takes time.”

Speaking more on the innovation, he explained that the isolation switches have to be specially designed to get the necessary contact separation. “As a typical lightning strike can achieve several million volts of charge, it is good to have the highest possible separation gap. The prototype has been already manufactured, tested and patented. The University of Moratuwa, funded by the Sri Lanka Inventors’ Commission, helped me in this venture.”

Currently only one lightning surge diverter is available in the country. His hope is to develop the system to its maximum and then market it commercially.

Having always been interested in making new things, Nanayakkara has two other inventions under his belt. One is a rain gauge to measure the rainfall levels. The device he has created can be connected to the computer through which the rainfall can be measured. The other is a motor control protection for water pumps which is now commercially viable. He has received patents for the latter. The former is still at the research level, he said.