Data Acquisition and Test Control in the Laboratory

With the progressive development of microcomputer technology, microcomputer based data acquisition systems have become an indispensable tool in the soil mechanics laboratory. This paper discusses the range of components and capabilities commonly found in various data acquisition systems. Differences between serial card interface and bus interface hardware systems are examined. Methods of signal conditioning which help develop the full potential of a data acquisition system are described. Various types of computer software and functions of computer software are described and discussed.