Digital handling of measurement data in research
The lectures and laboratories in the Department of Materials Science contain various experiments for the determination of technological or comparable material parameters, which are provided by means of destructive and non-destructive testing methods. In addition to the use of measuring and testing technology, the acquisition and processing of measurement data plays a major role in the variable or steady-state condition assessment of materials, components or structures.
In principle, all methods for the simultaneous or sequential measurement and counting of measurable or countable data and groups of related data are called measurement data acquisition. Measurement data processing includes the organized handling of data sets with the aim of obtaining information about these data sets or to modify these data sets. For this purpose, data sets are recorded, processed according to a specified procedure and output as a result. For the comprehensive characterization of the damage condition or the evaluation of defects in materials or components, it is therefore necessary that the combination of measurement sensors and measurement data acquisition and processing is considered as a holistic process.
At present, in teaching operations in the context of laboratories, practical courses and bachelor and master theses, measurement data are often only recorded selectively and recorded for evaluation by the respective operator. On the one hand, this practiced procedure is error-prone, since it can lead to transmission and reading errors, and on the other hand, it does not allow for continuous measurement, as is also required for characterizing material behavior under continuous stress.
The aim of the project is to provide practical and timely training in the use of measuring and testing techniques and the associated data acquisition and processing. Therefore 5 measurement data acquisition cards National Instruments myDAQ (Education Version) are to be procured. The systems applied for are equipped with LabView drivers, whereby the data can not only be acquired on the PC, but also visualized and evaluated. A corresponding license for National Instruments LabView is included with each card, so no further costs are incurred. The system integration on the PC is done via a standard USB connection, which allows the measurement cards to be installed on any PC/laptop. They offer extensive possibilities for connecting different measuring sensors. The corresponding measuring amplifiers and measuring ranges as well as filters for the connection of e.g. thermocouples, shunt or distance measuring sensors are already implemented on the software side and can be selected in the system software. At the same time, up to 8 different measuring sensors can be acquired synchronously.