AUTOMATED TANK CALIBRATION SYSTEM USING A PORTABLE COMPUTER

Year
1990
Author(s)
John P. Clark - Westinghouse Savannah River Company
Stephen H. Holt - Westinghouse Savannah River Company
Abstract
Manual tank calibrations often have variabilities of both a random and systematic nature that often affect the quality of the data collected for determining accurate calibration equations. When performing the calibration run, data omissions and transcriptions often occur (forgetting to tare weigh the prover vessel or miswriting a displayed value). A computer can be used to minimize these errors associated with the logging of data. This paper describes an IBM compatible, portable computer based system, developed at the Savannah River Site (SRS), that was used to calibrate three tanks in the second quarter of 1990. It received data directly from instrumentation such as Ruska differential pressure sensors and electronic balances, while prompting the technicians to perform the various steps in the calibration procedure. This automated system greatly improved the quality of data for calculating the calibration equation for each of these tanks over previous calibration runs.