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Data Loggers
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What is a Datalogger? - A good description from Wikipedia
Important Considerations in Buying a Data Logger - Whether you are an experienced data logger user, or just getting started, this article can help you during your data logger selection process. It points out some of the most important considerations to make, and offers tips on specific features to look for - Thanks to Hinco and Onset.
Datalogger Papers and Applications
Agriculture
Greenhouse
Monitoring
- Monitor and maintain optimum greenhouse conditions to maximise crop production
and minimise costs.
Monitor
Environment Status for the Export of Paprika
and Fruit Crops - Monitor
the environment in the shipping contain. The critical
elements to be monitored were the levels of Oxygen, CO2, Ethylene and
temperature. Also the client wanted portability and easy access to connect the
sensors. The project required the data logger to have both a large memory
capacity and be battery operation.
Monitor
Greenhouses and Control Irrigation System in Fruit Crops Experiment Station
- The client needed to remotely monitor, control and irrigate, measuring soil
moisture content and temperature in a number of greenhouses. Also the control of
the Greenhouses windows by opening and closing automatically to ensure the
appropriate temperature is maintained.
Tractor
Aquisition System for Field Power and Energy Demand Mapping
- University Putra Malaysia - Massey Ferguson 3060 agricultural tractor is
equipped on-board with an instrumentation monitoring and acquisition system
capable of providing the information; Engine speed / PTO speed / Forward travel
speed / Drive wheel slippage / Acres worked / Fuel consumption per hour / Fuel
consumption per hectare / Acres per hour / Cost factor / Fuel consumed / Fuel
remaining / Distance travelled / Drawbar pull force / PTO shaft torque / Drive
wheel torque and Vertical and horizontal forces at the 3 point hitches.
Buildings
The following papers are provided thanks to HINCO
and Onset.
Data
Logger Essentials for Building Commissioning - Bryan W.
Welsh - This
white paper focuses on stand-alone data loggers in
conjunction with the logging capabilities of the Building
Automation System in the context of use by a commissioning
provider. It also provides tips and advice on
specific procedures and techniques on that will enable the
efficient and effective use of data loggers to analyze building
performance
Using
Data Loggers for Energy
Management and Indoor Air Quality - This paper
presents case studies and demonstrates how low-cost data loggers are used
throughout buildings to identify opportunities for energy savings and to
document when those savings have been effectuated, while maintaining conditions
that contribute to the comfort and productivity of building occupants.
Choosing
Data Loggers for Green Building Projects
- 10 Important Considerations - Whether
you are an experienced data logger user or are just getting started, this guide
will help you to understand how data loggers fit into the green building
industry, and will give advice about several areas to consider when selecting a
logger best suited for your particular needs.
Monitoring
Green Roof Performance
with Weather Stations - This
guide explains how a weather station can be a valuable component
of a green roof project, and will share information particular to
this type of application.
The following papers are provided
by HINCO and DataTaker.
Transparent
active façade: results from a year round field
monitoring - M.Perino, V.Serra -
An analyzed façade consists of a transparent mechanically
ventilated façade, made up of an external double glazing and an internal single
glazing, separated by an air gap with a venetian blind on the inside.
Temperature, heat fluxes and air velocities in the ventilated façade were
continuously monitored by a measurement apparatus that
makes use of 32 sensors (thermocouples, heat flux meters, hot wire anemometer
and solarimeters) which are connected to a suitable datalogger.
Build,
Test and Monitor a Zero Energy Home - Working to develop
homes that combine energy efficiency, solar electric, and solar thermal
technologies that enable homes to produce nearly as much energy as they consume
- from Davis Energy Group.
Civil Engineering
Knowing
the Strength of Concrete -
To measure and predict the progress of the curing of poured concrete to
determine when the new structure can be loaded without causing damage to the
structure.
Excessive
Temperature on the Roof of Parliament House - 36
Copper / Constantin thermocouples were installed on a prototype roof section on
the site in Canberra and monitored for 110 days over summer.
Ground
Movement in Underground Rail Tunnels - This system
monitors
ground movement during excavation of a new underground railway tunnel, providing
data history and issues alarms for excessive movement. It also
transmits data and warning alarms to personnel in the tunnel and on the surface
via an existing telephone system.
Degrading
of Building Materials by the Weather -
An on-site weather station was required in a study of the effects of the weather
on building materials. Long term monitoring is required to determine how rapidly
and in what way degradation occurs.
Improved Concrete Testing and Reduced Construction Times by Duplicating Real
World Conditions - A
best practice method for testing the cure and strength of structural concrete in
the field.
Residual Load Testing of Anchor Bolts -
There are answers designers need to know when calculating required capacity for
fastening beams in buildings or holding roofs on in high winds. For instance:
How tight is that bolt? If it is this tight now, how tight will it be in one
hour, one day, and one year?
Electrical
Test
alternative energy systems at Antarctic - Details on a series
of tests on alternative energy systems
Reporting Occasional ‘Under Frequency’ Error Alarms - An
effluent treatment plant operator, was periodically experiencing "under
frequency" error alarms in 5 substations and needed to know what the power
levels were (in kW) immediately before and after these alarms.
Troubleshooting
Infrequent Alarms - A wood products manufacturer in
New Zealand was occasionally experiencing "under frequency" alarms at
an electrical substation but could not find the cause. The
alarms were disrupting production and costly. Maintenance
staff believed they could find the cause if power levels could be logged,
however the infrequent nature of the faults meant they would have to wade
through enormous amounts of data to find the small amount that was relevant.
Monitoring Remote Power in Nepal - Kathmandu
University is investigating using Solar Panels to provide electrical power to
run high intensity White Light Emitting Diodes (WLEDs) to provide basic
lighting. As part of the investigation they are monitoring Photo Voltaic
performance, current consumption battery and voltage inverter performance as
well as temperature readings.
Keeping
the Lights On - Following
the automation and unmanning of coastal lighthouses, it is necessary to
continuously monitor operation of the lamp and its power supply, and to raise
alarms if any malfunction occurs.
Ergonomics
Validating
Comfort Complaints
With Data Loggers - To
validate temperature-related comfort complaints, an increasing
number of facilities managers and HVAC contactors
are relying on battery-powered data loggers - Thanks to Hinco and Onset.
Environmental
The following papers are provided thanks to HINCO and
Onset.
Guidelines
for Successful
Soil Temperature Monitoring - This white paper
will discuss how soil temperatures differ according to forest type as well as
its influence on insects, wildlife and vegetation.
Choosing
a Water Level Logger - Five Things You Should Know -
Whether you have previous experience with water level logging, or are just
getting started, this report can help you choose the right products for your
needs. It points out the five most important things you should be aware of, and
offers tips on specific features to look for.
Underwater
Temperature Loggers - Considerations for Selection and Deployment -
This report provides general information about
monitoring water temperature, and serves as a guide to selecting underwater
temperature loggers. It also identifies some of the challenges specific to
particular field sites, and provides tips on deploying loggers in such
environments.
The following papers are provided
by HINCO and DataTaker.
Dioxins
Emissions from Bushfires in Australia
- Dr Carl Meyer, Dr Tom Beer and Dr Jochen Müller - This
paper describes an experimental application - From the Australian Government
Department of the Environment and Heritage.
Violent
Wave Overtopping -
Tim Pullen, William Allsop, Tom Bruce & Jimmy Geeraerts - As part of a
major European research project into wave overtopping at coastal structures,
overtopping discharges have been measured at full-scale on a vertical seawall in
Southeast England.
Monitoring
Pretreatment of Liquid Waste -Increasingly
stringent environmental regulations require manufacturers to continuously
monitor and manage their effluent disposal.
Monitoring
Runoff in Forest Catchment Areas -To
monitor the effects of timber logging on water run off in remote areas. Local
streams must be monitored and water samples taken whenever the stream level is
rising.
Open
Cut Mine Monitors Water Quality -An
open cut coal mine having a high salinity of water runoff required monitoring
the quality of water in several retaining dams.
Monitor
and Measure Pollutants - The
Environmental Protection Authority in Australia is obliged by an Act of
Parliament to monitor the condition of Port Phillip Bay. To achieve this, there
was a need to measure the ecological consequences of wastewater outflows from
Melbourne and the Bay’s capacity to cope with it.
Controlling Algal Blooms - It was necessary
to ascertain the factors that contributed to the outbreak of Algal Blooms. To
this end the client required detailed knowledge of the weather conditions at the
surface of the water and a picture of temperature stratification within the
river itself.
Freak
Storm and Flood affects Catchment Area - A NSW firm
specializing in environmental monitoring, has
perfected a method of remotely sampling the water in
streams during periods of rising water levels (at such times the amount of
sediments and nutrients in the run-off may increase).
Diesel
Systems Manufacturer achieves Environmental Aims -
Produce the technology to deliver cleaner engines however as the permitted level
of emissions is reduced, year upon year, new technology must be developed to
meet the changes in environmental demands.
Monitoring
Water Table Levels - Using the latest data acquisition
technology to monitor water table levels.
Hydrology,
Ecology and Biodiversity of a Rainforest in South America - In
conditions of extreme humidity, the data loggers are providing a reliable and
durable means of recording meteorological data for an environmental program..
Environmental
Research into Traffic Pollution in Indoor Air Quality -
An essential requirement of research is to gain an accurate picture of the
roadside levels of carbon monoxide continuous monitoring of exhaust airflow and
solvent data leaving the printing process.
Energy
and Effluent Monitoring at a Dublin Chemical Plant - Monitoring
temperature and flow returns between boiler chambers and cooling towers to
calculate energy consumption, and monitoring effluent emissions to comply with
legal requirements.
More
Environmental Links - A huge range of Enviromental
applications from DataTaker.
Fieldbus
CANgate
- The DataTaker CANgate is a CAN to ASCII gateway
converting CAN (Controlled Area Network) and GPS data to
serial data.
Modbus
- Connect to any SCADA system with Modbus, one of the world’s most commonly
used industrial protocols.
Food
Monitoring Temperature and Humidity as part of a Sterilization Process
Part 1 - A world leader in decontamination
and
sterilisation needed to ensure the correct environment for
the Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Preconditioning room for both
safety and quality assurance purposes.
Monitoring Temperature and Humidity as part of a Sterilisation Process
Part 2 - A world leader in decontamination and sterilisation needed
a data logging system for the Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Preconditioning room.
Monitoring Cooking Temperatures and Sterilisation of Food Products
- A system to monitor the retort cooking and sterilisation temperatures, as well
as the accumulated F0,during production of various pouched rice
products. The capability to download the results was required for analysis
and quality purposes.
Data Logger Monitors Dishwashers - Recording
the various temperatures during washing cycles: washing, rinsing and drying
temperatures and determine the resources used during the operation, for example
water, cleaning, rinsing and the drying time.
Meteorology
The following papers are provided thanks to HINCO and
Onset.
Choosing
a Data Logging Weather Station - Five Important Considerations
- Whether you have experience with weather stations and data
loggers or are just getting started, this guide can help you choose a system
appropriate for your needs. This report includes discussions of 5 important
considerations you should keep in mind and 10 questions you should ask
manufacturers - Thanks to Hinco and Onset.
Weather
Stations - Saving Time and Money with Remote Communications -
This paper will provide specific information about
three ways weather stations with remote communications can
save time and money, and will help guide you in deciding
whether such systems are right for your application.
The following papers are provided
by HINCO and DataTaker.
Early
Warning Predicting Cyclones -The
extensive and vulnerable mining and port facilities situated in remote tropical
North West Australia meant that it is essential that the best cyclone early
warning system be available. It was therefore necessary for the client to
augment the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather reports.
Automatic Weather Station - The weather
station is a valuable tool for a wide portion of the community. From the farmer
who needs to know for crop planting to the agricultural scientist researching
crop yield or for the daily weather forecasting.
Mining
Networking
DataTakers - To monitor
ground movement or subsidence around a copper mine which is generally unstable,
for the safety of miners and machinery. Early warning of danger situations is
essential.
Tracking
Down Those Intermittent Faults -To
monitor ground movement or subsidence around a copper mine which is generally
unstable, for the safety of miners and machinery. Early warning of danger
situations is essential.
Stress
Monitoring of Equipment using Strain Gauges -
Stress monitoring of a modified support bracket
for 800mm x 2000mm blades that each scrapes about 500 kg of coal stockpiles.
With more than 100 blades per coal scraper reclaimer machine, validation of the
design was important to avoid high maintenance costs and downtime.
Monitoring
Radio
Telemetry Setup for the Monitoring of PV Water Pumping Station
- Clyde Fredericks and Jason Witkowsky - In order to determine
meaningful life cycle costs of various rural water pump stations in the Northern
Cape, it is necessary to perform long-term monitoring of such systems.
Managing
the Pumps - Monitoring,
maintaining and controlling of remotely located automatic water pumping
stations. Warnings of operational problems sent to pagers carried by
maintenance personnel.
Decommissioning
of a Destroyer Escort - Remotely
monitor an extensive range of destructive experiments as part of the
decommissioning of a destroyer escort.
Improve
Process Control Systems at an Explosives Manufacturing Plant -
A convenient, single instrument for recording simultaneously from many sensors,
along with ability to later retrieve the stored information.
Monitoring
Weld Strength to Improve Quality -
A specialist metalworking company, experienced in all types of welding, wanted
to establish the reason why some welds occasionally failed.
Aid
gas Detection - Monitor and record
hydrochloric acid gas levels and chlorine (CH2) levels. There was also a need to
monitor and record temperature at twenty different locations within the plant.
Monitoring of Air Compressors - A
small but powerful data acquisition unit that field personnel could easily use
to measure the on time to off time and current consumption of a wide range of
compressor models.
Bitumen
Spray Truck - A Bitumen Spray Truck
application required specific information regarding the truck and bitumen spray
assembly during periods when bitumen is being sprayed onto roads to demonstrate
the quality and efficiency of the process.
Monitor
Throughput for Optimum Operation - A major
problem became evident in a quarry when there were significant discrepancies
between the manually reported stoppages and the throughput. To identify the
cause of the discrepancies a more full proof method of monitoring was
required.
Adding Security Access for a Temperature Alarming System
- A testing laboratory needed to log critical
temperatures on fridges, freezers, water baths and incubators and an alarm
registered which generates a report when any of these temperatures are out of
range for a period of time. Access required a security code system to change
whether the alarm is on or off, allow the supervisor to toggle it on and off,
and to prevent further operator access.
Application Note Control, data acquisition and calculation using your
DataTaker equipment - A Sydney
company required a controlled atmosphere environment as part of pilot testing of
a new process.
Oil and Gas
Oil field uses Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage
(SAGD) for Heavy Oil
Recovery An oil company drills a
horizontal well into an oil reserve that contains heavy crude oil. Steam is
injected into the well to lighten the oil and allow it to flow more easily.
Another horizontal well is drilled below the first one to collect the oil and
pump it to the surface. In the area, there are also observation wells drilled.
Pharmaceutical
Evaluating
and Applying Data Loggers
for Pharmaceutical Monitoring - Whether
you are an experienced data logger user or are just getting started, this guide
will help you to understand how data loggers can be applied in the
pharmaceutical industry and provides advice on important factors to consider
when evaluating different data loggers for your application -
Thanks to Hinco and Onset.
Safety
Measure the Strain on a Safety Harness during Fluctuating Force
- Brett Anderson, Film Director, DP, Stunt coordinator
with Moving Stills Production was contracted to work on the current "Wipe
off 5" Transport Accident Commercial to recreate the imagery of a car
colliding with a pedestrian. The safety of the actor was paramount and reliant
on the safety harness effectiveness. Therefore the client requirement was to
measure the maximum force to be placed on the harness. Although the actor’s
weight was well within the harness limit the force would increase dramatically
when the actor is being thrown about.
Full-scale
Fire Truck Performance Measurements -
P.A. Bowditch, J. E. Leonard, D.J. O’Brien - This
paper discusses the test method and modifications carried out to the trucks to
improve their performance in a bushfire burnover.
Solar
Hot
climate performance comparison - Wolfgang Meike - This
paper compares the performance of two types of Solar Panels and details how
Dataloggers were used to achieve this.
Transport
Trains, Data loggers, Accelerometers & GPS - New
160kph trains and upgraded rail lines have been introduced in Australia. During
testing train drivers complained of the sideways movement of the train. A GPS
was placed on the roof of the train to give the current train position and an
accelerometer installed to give the instantaneous train vertical and horizontal
acceleration of the train at that position.
Real
Time Monitoring of 210 Strain Gauges -To
verify the mathematical modeling of a new train, the manufacturer engaged a firm
of independent consulting engineers to verify the design and proof load the
structure to ensure the design criteria had been met.
Monitoring
Brakes on New Passenger Vehicle
- Evaluate the durability of the brake system of a new vehicle, critical
information used for the estimation of component life and setting of service
intervals.
Test
and Monitor Automotive Car Seats During the Manufacturing Process -A
luxury car seat manufacturer required to monitor and test it’s products during
the manufacturing process. These seats, which at a touch of a button reposition
themselves to either the driver’s or passenger’s preferred setting, have to
be manufactured to strict standards. The seat is required to be put through a
full range of movements to ensure the seat is working to specification and the
whole circuit is without fault.
Monitor and Measure Internal Temperatures of New Prototype Vehicles in a
Hot Dry Environment - As
part of new product testing new prototype vehicles one of the tests is the
"Hot Soak" in which the vehicle placed in a hot dry environment for a
period of time and the internal temperatures of the vehicle and other parameters
are measured.
Monitor
and Record Signal Strength and Plot Position for Best Voice and Data
Communications with a Train - To determine optimal
placement of signal repeater towers providing reliable radio data communications
carry out a radio survey on a sugar train.
Tractor
Aquisition System for Field Power and Energy Demand Mapping
- University Putra Malaysia - Massey Ferguson 3060 agricultural tractor is
equipped on-board with an instrumentation monitoring and acquisition system
capable of providing the information; Engine speed / PTO speed / Forward travel
speed / Drive wheel slippage / Acres worked / Fuel consumption per hour / Fuel
consumption per hectare / Acres per hour / Cost factor / Fuel consumed / Fuel
remaining / Distance travelled / Drawbar pull force / PTO shaft torque / Drive
wheel torque and Vertical and horizontal forces at the 3 point hitches.
Turning Point Analysis
Turning
Point Analysis - This is a method of data compression for
arbitrary waveforms. The incoming waveform is sampled at speed and analysed in
real time to identify the turning points (Maxima and Minima) of the waveform.
The value and time of the turning point are logged to memory for later recovery.
This also includes a simple method of noise rejection (Dead banding). Turning
Point Analysis can be used in a large number of applications where a waveform
needs to be monitored. Some examples include but are not limited to; Cyclic
fatigue monitoring of structures/ Wave height monitoring of coastal structures -
shore erosion / Tank level monitoring / Air condition monitoring / Pressure
fluctuations in pipes and Temperature controller monitoring.
USB Datalogger
USB
Datalogger - This is the world’s first data logger to
accept a USB memory stick for transfer of collected data, controlling functions
or sending programs to the logger. A single low cost USB Flash Drive can be used
to gather data from or reprogram a large number of loggers, all tracked by
serial number.
Telemetry, Wireless and SMS
Remote Communication - SMS your Datataker Data Logger - CoolPac
are developing a revolutionary new product that allows life saving
pharmaceuticals, requiring low stable temperatures, to be shipped without
refrigeration. The client needed to undertake extensive testing to validate
their product.
Using a Data Logger as a Remote Telemetry Unit via SMS
- Easily and robustly collect data form multiple data
loggers and provide calculated results, control, alarms and reports.
Remote
Data logging System using GPRS wireless link - This
document describes a system to log data, measured remotely with dataTaker data
loggers, to a base station computer. This means that while the dataTaker data
logger is logging data, the data or a subset can simultaneously be viewed from
anywhere in the world. The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is used to
provide the wireless link.
Monitor and Control a Furnace System - Requirements
were to raise an alarms via SMS when the furnace temperature fell outside it’s
required operating temperature along with the ability to turn burner One or Two
on or off as necessary and to reset the complete system using SMS messages.
Remote
Water Tank Control using Telemetry - This application
details the monitoring of the conditions on a water tank 10 kms away and
controlling the level via two remote pumps.
Zoological
How
Hot is a Broody Emu?
- Male emus are devoted parents.
They do all the incubation of their partner’s eggs. Given they neither eat nor
drink while on duty, the client’s research was into the physiological
consequences of this dedicated eight-week fast.
Other Links
What
is a Datalogger - A good description from National
Instruments.
Datalogging
- Your Questions and the Answers -
Includes What is datalogging?, Where is datalogging used?,
What types of datalogging are there?, What equipment do I need for datalogging?,
What issues should be considered before buying?, What are the implementation
issues? - From Becta