Robert Kraus
The storage of measurements in MOSAICmodeling is a new feature, which is still under development and not released to the public for use in productive systems . Nevertheless, it is usable and you can enable the functionality by getting in contact with the developer.
The objective of the measurement database in MOSAICmodeling is to provide a systematic storage possibility of important measurements in a collaboration project. They can be exchanged and used for parameter estimation, design of experiments and other applications.
As illustrated in the Figure above, the configuration of a miniplant, or similar setups for measurements, is changing all the time. Sensors are added or moved and in most cases, it is no possible for outsiders to reconstruct the single changes in the corresponding measurement setup. Crucial information, only known to the experimenter, is lost by and by and the measurements are more difficult to reuse. The storage in MOSAICmodeling has the aim to provide a better and lasting documentation by integrating the plant history into the measurements. The main idea is a hierarchical structure, where a plant has configurations, which in turn have measurement sets with the actual data. Whenever the setup is changed, the user is supposed to add a new configuration where he attaches an updated process flowchart with the positions and names of the single sensors. The measurement sets are then assigned to the corresponding configuration. By following this structure, other user are always able to identify the corresponding status of the plant, when the measurements where taken. Additionally, the development of the plant is documented for future generations.
The hierarchical structure is represented as tree on the left, with the single plants as top nodes. With a double click on a plant, the single configurations become visible. With another double click on a configuration, you can see the available measurement sets with this configuration.
Adding a new plant
The first step is to add the measuring device as new plant. To do this, select the node <new plant> in the tree on the left. On the right, the plant information panel becomes visible. Type in the name of the plant, give a description and, if possible, add the informations. By pressing [save], the new plant is created.
New Configuration
To add a new configuration of a plant, select the node <new configuration> in the tree of the left, under the corresponding plant. Press [save] and a new configuration is created with the current time stamp. You can now add a description and attach the current process flowchart. Also the time stamp can be changed as needed. Press [save] again to store the changes. The next step is the selection of the active measurement points for this set. Available points from previous configurations are automatically added. By pressing [new], it is possible to create a new measurement point. The name of the point should be the same as in the process flowchart. Any changes should be saved by pressing [save].
New Set of measurements
In the navigation tree on the left, the available measurement sets are displayed. To add a new set, select the node <new set> and press [save] to create the new set. You can always change the timestamp and the description. Before adding the first values, you have to decide, if you want to use a timestamp to identify your measurement values, or a consecutive index. When you added the first measurement values, your are not able to change this setting any more.
To add data with timestamps available, select the corresponding name in the sensor list. You can enter the measurement values in the table below. It is mandatory, to enter the date and time for each entered value in the format: DD.MM.YYYY HH:MM:SS.SSS
The absolute values for the lower and upper error are optional.
If you don’t have a timestamp for your values and you want to use an index value, you can just do so. Select the index property for the set and just add the data as shown in the Figure above.
You have to press [save], otherwise the entered values are not stored in the database.