A Field Terminal for Collection and Analysis of Geological and Hydrogeological Data

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Abstract
Having immediate, automated field access to data gathered during geological and hydrogeological investigations can be crucial to definition of the scope and direction of test procedures, as well as to the interpretability of results. A portable, briefcase‐sized data collection and analysis instrument has therefore recently been developed. It is capable of operating as a standalone or operator‐guided field unit. This terminal is pre‐programmed for a number of standard applications, several of which involve BAT® tools, e.g., permeability tests made using the BAT Ground Water Monitoring System. It can, however, be used with a wide range of other tools for controlling data collection during pumping, penetration and pressometer tests, etc.An operator's terminal and independent data collection microcontroller are the major components of this system. Data may be collected from any combination of four ports: an internal, programmable interval timer, a pulser (shaft encoder), and two 14‐bit analog‐to‐digital (A/D) inputs. The latter are primarily used for pressure or resistance transducers. Reading of data may be triggered automatically by the timer and/or pulser, or be performed upon operator command. Many thousands of data points may be stored in the microcontroller, representing one or several tests of any type, intermixed. Via the operator's terminal, any subset of this stored data may be examined, erased, modified or analyzed. A 26‐character LCD display and a four‐color printer/plotter are used to record data and results of analyses. Data may also be transferred to an external computer for more extensive manipulation.Three examples of how this terminal may be used in the field in connection with site investigations are presented in this paper. They involve (a) measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity, (b) determination of soil stratigraphy using pore pressure sounding, and (c) water network profiling.

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