Automated Data Acquisition System Research Articles

Crack detection of plastic gears using a convolutional neural network pre-learned from images of meshing vibration data with transfer learning

In this paper, a crack detection method of plastic POM (Polyoxymethylene) gears using a deep convolutional neural network is proposed. The vibration signal is collected from an automatic data acquisition system for a gear operation test rig, with an accelerometer installed on the housing of bearings. The FFT (Fast-Fourier Transform) spectrums of the measured vibration signal are visualised as grayscale images for training input. Additionally, a high-speed camera observes cracks occurring at the root of the teeth which enable to label the visualised images for training data. A popular convolutional neural network, called VGG16 ConvNet, is employed for the classification of the crack or non-crack situation of gears. This VGG16 is pre-learned from image data of ImageNet and relearned from the created images of vibration data with the transfer learning technique. The weights of the last two layer are re-trained in the transfer learning process. The accuracy rate for learning from training data approached 99% by transfer learning. Additionally, the accuracy rate can reach 100% on classification tasks from testing data. Finally, four endurance tests of plastic gear were carried out. The proposed crack detection was carried out at the rate of 10 times per minute, and the errors of detection results are investigated by training data assessment. The experimental results show that the proposed method is sufficient to specify the crack or non-crack situation of gear during the operation test.

Width Effect of CFRP Strips on the Compressive Behavior of Plain Concrete Cylinders

Several experimental studies have been conducted to investigate the influence of fiber-reinforced polymer on confined columns. Most of these studies examine the effect of some variable parameters such as the spacing between strips, the number of layers, the initial strength of concrete and the degree of confinement. This paper is the result of an experimental study on the behavior of plain concrete cylinders (O160 × 320 mm) reinforced with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) layers. The main purpose of this work is to study the influence of strip width of CFRP composite used for reinforcement. Five series of tests were carried out under a cyclic and progressive axial compression loading to failure. Tests were carried out using a compression machine MCC8 of 3000 kN capacity with automatic data acquisition system. In this investigation, the stress–strain curves were plotted in order to determine the stress–strain relationships and to obtain the behavior of the concrete cylinders. In conclusion, it is evident that this study has shown an optimal configuration and an adequate distribution of CFRP composite materials to minimize the utilization of the latter and thus to use it to its ultimate strength and to carry out the ultimate limit state design as well.

Research on the Earth Pressure and Internal Force of a High-Fill Open-Cut Tunnel Using a Bilayer Lining Design: A Field Test Using an FBG Automatic Data Acquisition System.

When there are railway tunnels on both sides of a valley, a bridge is usually built to let trains pass. However, if the valley is very close to an urban area, building an open-cut tunnel at the portal and then backfilling it to create available land resources for the city and to prevent excavation slag from polluting the environment would be a wise choice. This has led to the emergence of a new type of structure, namely, the high-fill open-cut tunnel. In this paper, by performing an automatic long-term field test on the first high-fill open-cut tunnel using a bilayer design in China, the variations of earth pressure and structural internal force during the backfilling process were obtained, and different tunnel foundation types were studied. The results showed that the earth pressure significantly exceeded the soil column weight, with a maximum earth pressure coefficient between 1.341 and 2.278. During the backfilling process, the earth pressure coefficient increased at first and then decreased slowly to a relatively stable value, and a stiffer foundation would make the structure bear higher earth pressure (1.69 times the normal one observed during monitoring). The change of internal force had two stages during backfilling: before the backfill soil reached the arch crown, the internal force of the lining changed slowly and then grew linearly as the backfill process continued. Moreover, the axial force ratio of the inner and outer linings was close to their thickness proportion, and the interaction mode between the two layers was very similar to the composite beam.

Modelling and simulation of an automatic solar module characteristics data acquisition system

This paper is devoted to the design and simulation of an automatic data acquisition system of solar module characteristics. The system is essentially composed of three parts. The first part is devoted to the acquisition of the electrical parameters of the solar module (Current, Voltage and Power) in automatic ways using an automatic variable load. The second part is focused on devices which measure the ambient temperature and solar irradiation. In the last part, we study the design of an acquisition interface and a database for data saving. The results of simulations validate the correct operation of the measuring bench.

Schizolobium Parahyba var. Amazonicum Glulam Classified by Non-destructive Tests

ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationship between the density and the EW (modulus of elasticity) values obtained by two non-destructive methods: the accuracy of an expeditious method using a graduated ruler; and the homogenization of elasticity between the methods for glulam elements. In the analysis, displacements were measured with a graduated ruler and an automatic data acquisition system of 136 glulam pieces with corresponding structural size was used. The methods were evaluated by correlations, and the homogenization of elasticity was evaluated by the Tukey test. We found that density does not influence the EW values obtained by the studied methods, and it is concluded that an expeditious method using a graduated ruler can be used to determine EW by applying a corrected equation.

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Automated Physiological Data Acquisition Systems Using Data-Driven Modeling.

Precision medicine and the continuous analysis of "Big data" promises to improve patient outcomes dramatically in the near future. Very recently, healthcare facilities have started to explore automatic collection of patient-specific physiological data with the aim of reducing nursing workload and decreasing manual data entry errors. In addition to those purposes, continuous physiological data can be used for the early detection and prevention of common, and possibly fatal, diseases. For instance, poor patient outcomes from sepsis, a leading cause of mortality in healthcare facilities and a major driver of hospital costs in the USA, can be mitigated when detected early using screening tools that monitor the changing dynamics of physiological data. However, the potential cost of collecting continuous physiological data remains a barrier to the widespread adoption of automated high-frequency data collection systems. In this paper, we perform cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of machine learning applied to various types of acquisition systems (with different collection intervals) to determine if the benefits of such systems will outweigh their implementation costs. Although such systems can be used in the detection of various complications, in order to showcase the immediate benefits, we focus on the early detection of sepsis, one of the major challenges of hospital systems. We present a general approach to conduct such analysis for a wide range of hospitals and highlight its applicability using a case study for a small hospital with 150 beds and 3000 annual patients where the acquisition system would collect data at 1-min intervals. Lastly, we discuss how the analysis may help guide incentives/policies with regard to adopting automated data acquisition systems.

Automated data acquisition system of measuring installation for testing systems of hydrogen safety of nuclear power plants

n many branches of science and technology, as a rule, there is a question of construction and practical application of complex objects and systems, different in physical nature, functional purpose, specific implementation and architecture. Their full automation requires the introduction of such adequate control systems, which would be characterized by the ability to evaluate the unobservable variables of the object, predict the state of the object under specified or selected criteria and automate the synthesis of optimal control strategies.

Laser diodes optical output power model

This article proposes a modelling method of laser diodes optical output power, especially for mid-high power diodes working in continuous wave (CW) or quasi continuous wave (QCW) modes, and focusing in the optical output power dependency on temperature and its model implementation in Pspice, targeting its computer simulation. It is commented the theory and related mathematical expressions used in the model, the Pspice program model and the purpose of its different parts, and how mathematical expressions are introduced in it. It is proposed a diodes optical output power response characterization method using an automatic data acquisition system to obtain diodes response curve avoiding temperature effects during the measurements. Implementation example of the modelling and characterization method in a laser diode, model results versus real measurements comparison and related conclusions are exposed.

Influencia de la automatización de ensayos de flujo luminoso total en el cálculo de incertidumbre combinada y en el tiempo de ejecución del ensayo

El cálculo de la incertidumbre combinada de ensayos de flujo luminoso realizados en una esfera integradora es importante para la acreditación bajo los estándares de la norma ISO/IEC 17025. Los valores de los equipos de medición usados dentro del ensayo debían ser registrados de manera manual por el operador, por lo cual se implementó un sistema de adquisición de los datos automático mediante la integración de los equipos en una aplicación desarrollada en LabVIEW que incluye el cálculo de la incertidumbre basado en el modelo desarrollado por el mismo laboratorio y la generación de informes. El presente trabajo analiza la influencia de la automatización del proceso de adquisición, análisis y uso de los datos para el cálculo de la incertidumbre, comparando un ensayo designado de una lámpara de alta descarga usando el sistema manual y el sistema automatizado además de la reducción del tiempo del ensayo para cubrir una mayor demanda.

Simple but accurate periodic solutions for the nonlinear pendulum equation

Abstract Despite its elementary structure, the simple pendulum oscillations are described by a nonlinear differential equation whose exact solution for the angular displacement from vertical as a function of time cannot be expressed in terms of an elementary function, so either a numerical treatment or some analytical approximation is ultimately demanded. Such solutions have been thoroughly investigated due to the abundance of distinct pendular systems in nature and, more recently, due to the availability of automatic data acquisition systems in undergraduate laboratories. However, it is well-known that numerical solutions to differential equations usually loose accuracy (due to accumulation of roundoff errors) and polynomial approximations diverge after long time intervals. In this work, I take a few terms of the Fourier series expansion of the elliptic function sn (u;k) as a source of accurate periodic solutions for the pendulum equation. Interestingly, these approximations remain accurate for arbitrarily long time intervals, even for large amplitudes, which shows its adequacy for the analysis of experimental data gathered in classical mechanics classes.

FMCW Radar for Data Acquisition on High-Density Polyethylene Guides

Current labeling techniques have several disadvantages, such as label durability on outdoor conditions, that hinder the growth of automated data acquisition systems. We present a millimeter-wave radar-based alternative that can solve some of these problems by reading prerecorded binary air gaps in a low-cost plastic guide made from high-density polyethylene. In this article, bit detection in a plastic guide is analyzed and validated with a 300-GHz radar prototype transmitting 27GHz of bandwidth in a laboratory environment.

A novel systematic methodology for ship propulsion engines energy management

Establishing an energy monitoring and management methodology is a quintessential milestone for informed energy savings decision making as well as for effectively reducing the cost and the environmental impact of shipping operations. In this study, a novel systematic methodology is proposed for the energy management of the ship propulsion engine, which is the largest ship energy producer. The methodology employs a combination of tools including statistical analysis, compressor modelling to predict the engine airflow and energy and exergy analyses, whereas its output includes the engine operating profile, the most frequently occurring propeller curves and the engine most frequent operating points, the key performance indicators for quantitatively assessing the recorded parameters quality as well as the energy/exergy flows and the engine components exergy destruction. The methodology is implemented for three case studies for a very large crude carrier, a container ship and a bulk carrier, for which recorded data were available by using different monitoring techniques from either noon reports or automatic data acquisition systems. The derived results provide the engine operating profile demonstrating that the investigated vessels were operating in slow steaming conditions with a lower engine efficiency associated with a greater exhaust gas wasted energy. The measured data analysis demonstrates the better quality of the data recorded by automated monitoring systems and pinpoint maintenance issues of the engine components. Lastly, the exergy analysis results demonstrate that the exhaust gas and jacket cooling water provide the greater exergy flows rendering them attractive for energy saving initiatives, whereas the engine block, compressor and turbine are the engine components with the greater exergy destruction, thus requiring closer monitoring for timely identifying mitigating measures.

Development of technology for a long-term monitoring and automatic data acquisition system

The Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry conducted research to develop a long-term monitoring technology to clarify pore water pressure and water chemistry in drilled boreholes. An automatic data acquisition system for the long-term monitoring was also developed. The automatic data acquisition system has an independent electric power supply and data communication system. The electric power is supplied from solar and wind power. The data communication is secured through a satellite or 3G/4G line. A very low power consumption system can be readily installed by creating personal area networks between measuring devices using Zigbee digital radio. A demonstration of the system was conducted under harsh natural conditions for 18 months. It was confirmed that the system has sufficient reliability for actual operation.

A Linear Modeling Approach on LTGP Signals and Seismic Activity

This study illustrates presents a set of the Long-Term Geoelectric Potential (LTGP) measurements that are collected for experimental investigation in Western Greece during a five-year period (1993-1997). During this period, many major destructive earthquake events occurred that caused human casualties and extended material damages. The collection and processing of geoelectric measurements was done by an automated data acquisition system at the Seismological Laboratory of the University of Patras, Greece. This novel study considers seismic activity of this area as a typical linear dynamic system and the dynamic relationship between the magnitude of earthquakes and Long-Term Geoelectric Potential signals is inferred by the Recursive Least Square algorithm. The results are encouraging and show that linear dynamic systems, which are widely used in modern control theory, can describe efficiently the dynamic behavior of seismic activity and become a useful interpretative tool of seismic phenomenon.

Alexander Tall Tower! A Study of the Boundary Layer on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

AbstractBecause of the harsh weather conditions on the Antarctic continent, year-round observations of the low-level boundary layer must be obtained via automated data acquisition systems. Alexander Tall Tower! is an automatic weather station on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica and has been operational since February 2011. At 30 m tall, this station has six levels of instruments to collect environmental data, including temperature, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, and pressure. Data are collected at 30-, 15-, 7.5-, 4-, 2-, and 1-m levels above the snow surface. This study identifies short-term trends and provides an improved description of the lowest portion of the boundary layer over this portion of the Ross Ice Shelf for the February 2011–January 2014 period. Observations indicate two separate initiations of the winter season occur annually, caused by synoptic-scale anomalies. Sensible and latent heat flux estimates are computed using Monin–Obukhov similarity theory and vertical profiles of potential air temperature and wind speed. Over the three years, the monthly mean sensible heat flux ranges between 1 and 39 W m−2 (toward the surface) and the monthly mean latent heat flux ranges between −8 and 0 W m−2. Net heat fluxes directed toward the surface occur most of the year, indicating an atmospheric sink of energy.

Experiment Study on Magnetic Field Homogeneity of the Persistent Current Mode Helmholtz Coils Made of HTS-Coated Conductors

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet made out of coated conductors (CCs) is considered as a possible alternative for conventional LTS magnet used in MRI and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) because of the high critical temperature and excellent performance under strong field. However, due to the difficulty of fabricating the superconducting joints of CCs, the HTS magnet made of CCs cannot yet operate in persistent current mode (PCM). In this study, a new type of PCM coils made of CCs, called double-slit coil, is developed to fabricate a pair of Helmholtz coils with an inner diameter of 50 mm. The angle deflection of the magnetic field trapped by the double-slit coil can be reduced due to its symmetric structure on the z-axis and therefore improve the field homogeneity. Both of z-axial and y-axial components of magnetic field distribution along the z-axis is measured at 77 K by a motor-driven hall probe with an automatic data acquisition system. The result shows that the double-slit Helmholtz coils perform similarly to circular coils on the z -axial component and the y-axial harmonic component can be reduced to less than 0.2% of the total trapped magnetic field. Finally, a conceptual structure of HTS shielding coils applied in MRI/NMR.

High sensitive and high temporal and spatial resolved image of reactive species in atmospheric pressure surface discharge reactor by laser induced fluorescence.

The current paucity of spatial and temporal characterization of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) concentration has been a major hurdle to the advancement and clinical translation of low temperature atmospheric plasmas. In this study, an advanced laser induced fluorescence (LIF) system has been developed to be an effective antibacterial surface discharge reactor for the diagnosis of RONS, where the highest spatial and temporal resolution of the LIF system has been achieved to ∼100 μm scale and ∼20 ns scale, respectively. Measurements on an oxidative OH radical have been carried out as typical RONS for the benchmark of the whole LIF system, where absolute number density calibration has been performed on the basis of the laser Rayleigh scattering method. Requirements for pixel resolved spatial distribution and outer plasma region detection become challenging tasks due to the low RONS concentration (∼ppb level) and strong interference, especially the discharge induced emission and pulsed laser induced stray light. In order to design the highly sensitive LIF system, a self-developed fluorescence telescope, the optimization of high precision synchronization among a tunable pulsed laser, a surface discharge generator, intensified Charge Coupled Device (iCCD) camera, and an oscilloscope have been performed. Moreover, an image BOXCAR approach has been developed to remarkably improve the sensitivity of the whole LIF system by optimizing spatial and temporal gating functions via both hardware and software, which has been integrated into our automatic control and data acquisition system on the LabVIEW platform. In addition, a reciprocation averaging measurement has been applied to verify the accuracy of the whole LIF detecting system, indicating the relative standard deviation of ∼3%.

Hydrogen Plasma Characterization at Low Pressure in 2.45 GHz Electron Cyclotron Resonance Proton Ion Source

The plasma parameters in the 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) proton ion source have been measured and optimized at low pressures. These parameters are important as they are related to the beam parameters of the ion source. A detailed plasma characterization study has been conducted using hydrogen as a working gas in the operating pressure and power range $10^{-4}$ – $10^{-3}$ mbar, 400–1000 W of the ion source, respectively. The plasma parameters have been measured in the ECR zone of the plasma chamber. An automatic Langmuir probe and data acquisition system has been used to measure these parameters. In the above-mentioned power and pressure range, the plasma density, plasma electron temperature, and plasma potential measured are in the range $4 \times 10^{11}$ – $6.5 \times 10^{11}$ cm $^{-3}$ , 4–11 eV, and 30–40 V, respectively. The variation of plasma parameters with neutral gas pressure is studied for different microwave powers. A 0-D (global) model has been developed to compare the measured plasma parameter data with the calculated ones. The ion species content in the plasma was measured after extraction using a magnetic mass analyzer and a Faraday cup. A plasma-based model has been developed to compare the measured ion species fraction data with the calculated ones by taking the measured ECR plasma parameters as input.

The Digital Twin: Demonstrating the Potential of Real Time Data Acquisition in Production Systems

The acquisition of data and the development of different options in production system and factory planning requires up to 2/3rds of the total needed time resources. The digitization of production systems offers the possibility of automated data acquisition. Nevertheless, approaches concerning fully automated data acquisition systems are not widely spread among SME (small and medium sized enterprises). On the one hand, this is caused by the heterogeneous databases, on the other hand by insufficient data processing systems. Furthermore, the advantages of The Digital Twin are not sufficiently known due to the lack of competence in SME concerning matters of Industry 4.0. In order to transfer knowledge about the benefits of digitalization, the development of demonstrating platforms is crucial. This paper introduces a learning factory based concept to demonstrate the potentials and advantages of real time data acquisition and subsequent simulation based data processing. Therefore, an existing learning factory will be upgraded regarding both, multi-modal data acquisition technologies as well as a locally independent optimization environment. Thereby the requirements of SME concerning flexible, easy to use, scalable and service oriented digitization applications are met. The approach is part of a concept for the realization of a Cyber Physical Production System (CPPS) in SME that ensures the development of an image of the production with the aid of a multi-modal data acquisition.

Evolução diária e variação sazonal da turbulência atmosférica em espaços livres de cidades do Oeste Paulista

Este artigo procura identificar um padrão da turbulência do ar que reflita o efeito de edifícios nas características da turbulência medida em espaços livres de cidades do Oeste Paulista. A turbulência atmosférica foi estimada utilizando-se observações de alta-frequência das três componentes ortogonais do vento (u, v, w). Um anemômetro sônico CSAT3 da Campbell Scientific Inc. (CSI) foi instalado na cobertura de um edifício, e as componentes turbulentas (u', v', w') foram sistematicamente medidas e registradas em intervalos de 0.1 s e 5 min, respectivamente, durante 1 ano entre março de 2015 e fevereiro de 2016 com um sistema automático de aquisição de dados CR3000 (CSI). A análise dos dados considerou a variabilidade diurna e noturna da turbulência, e os resultados experimentais revelaram a existência de um padrão diário de circulação vertical. A componente w variou entre 15 e 45 cm.s-1 em média, e as flutuações turbulentas observadas indicaram que uma componente ascendente com uma velocidade de até 1 m.s-1 predominou durante o meio do dia e início da tarde. Durante a noite até as primeiras horas da manhã, uma componente descendente, menos robusta, com uma velocidade de até 0.5 m.s-1 foi observada. O fluxo horizontal médio (u, v) foi de baixa velocidade (em torno de 1 m.s-1) e predominantemente de sudeste. Houve uma mudança consistente na direção deste vento, que girou para leste durante a manhã conforme o ramo ascendente se desenvolveu. É proposto um modelo para a circulação do ar próximo à superfície na qual esta mudança na direção do vento é o principal efeito do edifício na turbulência observada. Concluiu-se que outros padrões assimétricos observados, do tipo brisas de vale, podem ser compreendidos como circulações secundárias que tem como pano de fundo o efeito do edifício.