University Department of Aviation Sciences and DAQFactory

Summary:

• Trace gas measurements from small aircraft through university program
• DAQFactory collected data from 9 instruments plus aircraft data from AIMMS-20 protocol
• Used multiport serial to collect all data
• On-site support provided

A large university's Department of Aviation Sciences in conjunction with a research institute in California utilized AzeoTech's consulting services and DAQFactory software for data acquisition, display and control for trace gas measurements from two small aircraft.

The Challenge

Systems were needed on 2 planes: a Piper Aztec twin engine and a Cessna 172, that could handle data from 9 different instruments measuring trace gases such as ozone, CO, NOx, isoprene and particulates using a nephelometer. Aircraft statistics including location, pitch, yaw, and wind data using a GPS and AIMMS-10 was also collected. The Cessna 172 included an AIMMS-20 for aircraft stats, ozone, NOy, Isoprene and others. These systems were installed and operated by students of the university.

The Solution

Primary data was acquired into DAQFactory using RS-232 connections to allow the acquisition of over 100 channels. The RS-232 connections gave access to many instrument parameters that are otherwise unavailable using analog signals, and also kept the signal noise to a minimum. DAQFactory communicated with eight different serial ports simultaneously for continuous 1 hz measurements from all instruments. DAQFactory's built in serial monitor made determining the unique serial protocol of each instrument easy. The serial wizard made parsing these streams also very easy to set up.

For instruments requiring polling, DAQFactory's sequences made it simple to request different pieces of data at different intervals, acquiring important data at 1hz and house-keeping data at slower data rates.

The Results

AzeoTech sent a data acquisition expert to the university to advise them on the best methods to acquire data, setup of DAQFactory to perform the data acquisition, logging and display, DAQFactory software training, and development of a custom driver for use with the AIMMS-10 and 20. The university now has two completely operational systems that are easy to use, and easy to modify.

Through utilization of DAQFactory in conjunction with our consulting services, the students and faculty are now able to focus their efforts on research.

AzeoTech is committed to providing the services and support our customers need to get the job done.