Digital Data Acquisition

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Detailed Overview/Outline

For whom intended This course is intended for laboratory and field test technicians and engineers.

Objectives To help participants to understand basic mechanical and structural concepts and terminology. It is not an in-depth mechanical engineering course but rather a course aimed at individuals who require an intensive review of basic principals, without the assumption of any prior knowledge of the topic. The course is fast paced and as non-mathematical as possible.

Brief Course Description The objective of the course is to provide participants with the knowledge required to specify, evaluate and use a wide variety of digital data acquisition systems in laboratory and field applications. Basic principles of sampling and digitizing theory are presented and reinforced with practical examples from everyday testing operations. Emphasis is placed on understanding the theoretical concepts through "mechanical feel" rather than mathematics.

Hardware discussions concentrate on performance capabilities and practical problems that arise in laboratory and field applications.

Heavy emphasis is placed on new technologies and system concepts that will be available in the near future. The aim is to prepare participants to design and procure state-of-the art systems that will satisfy their technical requirements efficiently and economically.

Literature describing the latest available hardware will be used as examples of good (and bad) practice. Particular emphasis will be placed on critical evaluation of commercially-available hardware and software systems.

The course is presented as a series of highly-interactive lecture/discussion sessions. Problems for individual and group solution are interspersed throughout the course to act as training aids and to evaluate class progress. Special-interest discussions are encouraged outside of the regular course sessions.

Demonstration programs written in LabView are used during the course to illustrate the concepts. These demonstrations are available for download, free of charge. Students are encouraged to download the demonstration programs prior to class, and install them on a laptop computer they can bring with them to class and use to follow along with the instructor when the demonstrations are presented.

Certificate Programs This course is required for TTi's Dynamic Test Specialist (DTS) certificate program. It may be used as an elective for any other TTi Specialist certificate program.

Prerequisites Participants should have attended TTi's course, Instrumentation for Test and Measurement, or some equivalent training program. A good understanding of the engineering problem to be analyzed is expected. An understanding of basic computer and data acquisition principles will be useful.

Text Each student will receive a course workbook, including most of the viewgraphs used in the course presentation.

Course Hours, Certificate and CEUs Open courses meet seven hours per day. Upcoming presentation dates can be found on our current open course schedule. Class hours/days for on-site courses can vary from 14-35 hours over 2-5 days as requested by our clients. Upon successful course completion, each participant receives a certificate of completion and one Continuing Education Unit (CEU) for every ten class hours.

Course Outline

Overview of the Measurement Process — The System Approach

• The role and function of digital data acquisition.
• Testing and experiment types — what capabilities are required?
• Accuracy, Dynamic Range, Headroom

Basic Concepts

• Basic calculations
• The Fourier Transform as a "Black Box"
• Data presentation in time and spectral domain

Sampling and Digitization Theory

• Data acquisition speed and accuracy/resolution considerations
• Aliasing
• Noise and other data corruption problems

Data Acquisition Hardware

• Signal Conditioning
• Amplifiers
• --Common-mode rejection
• --Transducer wiring practice
• Anti-alias filters
• --Estimating aliasing errors for different filter types
• --Filter/Sample-rate tradeoffs
• Sample-and-hold amplifiers
• Multiplexers
• Analog-to-digital converters
• --Flash, Successive-approximation, Multi-pass, Sigma-Delta, Integrating

The Computer System

• Candidate computer systems — tradeoffs
• Interface concepts — speed, implementation ease and robustness
• Data storage — speed, volume considerations

Types of Digital Acquisition Systems

• Applications, Special considerations, Performance and limitations of available system architectures

Data Analysis

• Engineering-Unit Conversions
• Data Interpolation
• Correction of Anti-Alias filter distortion

Evaluating Data Acquisition Systems

• Simple tests to evaluate system accuracy/capability

Specifying a system

• How do you specify a system to get what you want?

Final Examination

Award of Certificates for successful completion

Sponsor Background:
Tustin Technical Institute was founded in 1962 to provide training in engineering applications not found at conventional educational institutions. The training was aimed at individuals already working in industry and government to enhance their understanding of their everyday work.

We still continue this approach and specialize in presenting short courses from one day to eight weeks in duration, in various aspects of: engineering; design; computer software and hardware applications; non destructive testing; instrumentation; control; qualification testing procedures; quality assurance; reliability and various procedures associated with that area of activity called Environmental Engineering.

The thrust of our courses is to enable the course participants to understand the concepts involved in applying accepted engineering, testing and manufacturing procedures, so that products do not fail due to exposure to the environmental conditions which they may encounter in their everyday applications.

Our courses are offered to personnel actively involved in various aspects of engineering. They provide an opportunity to acquire specific application oriented education with particular emphasis on current technologies. TTI instructors are well qualified experienced individuals with "hands on" experience. They present the classes in a such a manner as to ensure that the participants understand the topics being covered to enable them to return to their jobs and apply techniques learned at TTI.

We offer a continuing education program leading towards a Specialist Certificate to enable individuals to have structured training program to follow over several years. The courses have been designed into modules to enable the participants to specialize in different areas. It enables them to improve their skills and prepare them for advancement in their chosen careers.

We offer a full range of our "open" courses at Santa Barbara at local conference facilities and additional courses are presented throughout the USA and many other countries: Australia; Canada; Denmark; Italy; Israel; Singapore; South Africa; South Korea; Sweden and the United Kingdom thus far.

Our courses are offered in three different ways:

• "Open" courses offered at various locations to individuals from many different organizations.
• "On-site" courses presented at client organizations facilities to clients employees only.
• "Distance learning" or correspondence courses for individuals to pursue on their own or in groups.

Why attend a TTI short course, now that you are qualified and have a good job?

·Remember....It's not enough to become qualified; you must remain qualified.

Many excellent technical courses are available at local colleges. However a TTI short course offers many advantages:

• The subject matter is covered in three to five days of intensive work/study.
• The classes are small so that attendees receive individual attention.
• There is good interaction between the attendees and instructor, providing interchange of ideas and solutions. Open discussions cover various topics that may need additional clarification.
• Attendees find that being immersed in the subject matter, away from the demands of job and family, provides an excellent opportunity to really absorb the concepts of the course material.
• TTI courses bridge the gap between academia and the working world. They update/supplement university education for people who must quickly grasp new concepts. They are aimed at "practical" solutions to everyday problems, and feedback from attendees is encouraged.
• TTI's instructors don't lecture, they teach. They have industry experience and understand what is needed in today's workplace.
• At the conclusion of a TTI short course, you will be able to return to your workplace and immediately apply the new ideas you acquired at TTI to your work assignments.

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