Automated Data Acquisition and Analysis System Used in the Basalt Waste Isolation Project's Near-Surface Test Facility

摘要

A large minicomputer-based data acquisition and analysis system has been developed by the Basalt Waste Isolation project and is being applied to support research efforts on the response of rock (basalt) to thermal loads from simulated nuclear wastes. This system is believed to be the largest and most powerful system of its type in existence. It scans over 1000 different instruments, for three separate experiments, at a maximum frequency of once every 5 minutes. In addition to data acquisition, the system also performs the functions of data reduction, analog-to-digital conversion, computation of engineering units, data archiving, statistical analysis, and interactive graphics and reports. The system should be of general interest to those concerned with automated monitoring of instrumentation and computer graphics, as applied to large-scale engineering and scientific experimentation, especially in the fields of rock mechanics and nuclear waste disposal. (ERA citation 08:017409)