Year
2000
Abstract
The MultiCal software system developed by the Safeguards Science and Technology Group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory provides integrated operation of multiple calorimeters. The MultiCal Software System is currently being used to operate more than 25 heat-flow calorimeters in six Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. Each installation of MultiCal is controlling multiple calorimeters operating in either passive or active mode or a combination of both types of operation. The MultiCal application operates on an Intel based computer system under the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. The MultiCal software was developed using the Microsoft Visual C++ development environment version 6.0 as a 32-bit object-oriented application and incorporates an integrated module process technique. Data collection is implemented using asynchronous communication and interrupt driven processes. A graphical user interface has been implemented to display the data and provides operator control of the application. A Microsoft Access compatible database is used to store the raw data as well as the resultant data. Commercially available hardware components are used for the data collection. All instruments use either the General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) or Serial interface bus for communications. In the passive mode of operation, the heat produced by the sample flows to the controlled environment through a calibrated thermal gap without any external influences. In the active mode of operation, a constant heat flow is maintained across the thermal gap using a servo-controlled heater. The software architecture, the hardware configuration, operating modes, and facility experience with use of this calorimeter operating system will be presented in the paper.