This user guide provides an overview of the IMS-SRM version 10.2 software application for operating the 2G Cryogenic Magnetometer. The SRM software is capable of processing section halves and discrete samples.  Maintenance procedures for the SRM are outlined in the at:

Content:

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This user guide provides an overview of the IMS-SRM version 10.2 software application for operating the 2G Cryogenic Magnetometer. The SRM software is capable of processing section halves and discrete samples.  Maintenance procedures for the SRM are outlined in the at:

Launching the IMS-SRM application

The IMS-SRM software can be launched from the Windows Start menu or from a desktop icon (Figure 1).

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After successful initialization, the main IMS-SRM window will appear (Figure 2).

A Quick Introduction to the IMS Program Structure

IMS is a modular program. Individual modules are as follows:

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Initial Instrument Setup

SRM Configuration

Configuration values should be set during initial setup and configuration by the paleomagnetics technician or scientist(s). There should be no need to change these values unless the configuration file is corrupted.

SRM Instrument General Setup

To open the SRM instrument setup window (Figure 4), select Instruments > SRM: Setup from the IMS panel menu (Figure 3).

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Degauss and Drift Locations Track Setup

This window is used set the distance to the drift measurement locations and the degauss staging positions. To open the Degauss and Drift setup window (Figure 5), select DAQ > Degauss-Drift Locations from the IMS panel menu (Figure 3).

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These positions will ensure that a 160-cm section is outside of the SQUIDS during zeroing and outside of the degauss region while ramping the coils up and down.

Defining Section Half and Discrete Tray Setups

At the beginning of an expedition, or any time the tray is replaced, the scientist(s) or technician must define the two active tray definitions. The program will have in memory the values for just one section half tray and one discrete tray at a time. To open either the Section Tray or Discrete Tray editors, select DAQ > Tray Section Editor or DAQ > Tray Discrete Editor from the IMS panel menu (Figure 3).

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Setting Up for a Measurement

Prior to measuring section halves or discrete samples in the SRM the user must:

• Set the measurement interval
• Take a background measurement of the empty tray
• Create or select a measurement sequence
• Create or select a sample type preset

Setting the Measurement Parameters

To open the Measurement Editor (Figure 9), select DAQ > Measurement Editor from the IMS panel menu (Figure 3).

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Measuring Tray Backgrounds

To measure the background of a section or discrete tray:

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These background data will be applied to all subsequent measurements of the same type.

Creating a Measurement Sequence

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• The sequence will be saved with a new name or the user may save over an existing sequence.

Defining the Sample Presets

The data calculations for the SRM are volume dependent and therefore it is necessary to assign the appropriate shape and volume to the sample prior to measurements. In the sample preset editor window the user can set the sample shape, section half, and the orientation of the sample. The volume used for each shape is displayed, and in some cases, may be edited.

Create Sample Presets

1)     To open the Sample Preset Editor (Figure 16), select DAQ > Sample Preset Editor from the IMS panel menu (Figure 3).

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Select the section half at the bottom of the window. In most cases this should be WORKING for discrete samples.

Save the Sample Preset

1)     Check the white square box on the right side of the screen (Figure 16 and Figure 17).

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To Review what has been assigned to a preset button, click the preset button once. The screen image will update to show the current preset.

To clear a preset

1)     From a single button:

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3)     Select OK to exit the preset editor.

Starting Measurements

Sample Information Window

Click START on the IMS panel (Figure 2) to open the sample information window (Figure 20–Figure 26). This is where the user enters the sample ID for a section or discrete sample and initiates the measurement.

There are four available tabs on the sample information screen. The first 3 tabs allow the user to enter sample identification information using 3 different methods. The fourth tab allows the user to select a measurement sequence.

Sample Entry Tabs

• Scanner: Scan the IODP barcode to enter the sample’s Text ID and Label ID values.
• LIMS: Select expedition, site, hole, core, and section values from a series of list boxes that are populated with data from the LIMS database.
• Manual: Manually enter the sample’s Text ID and Label ID values and a length. The name fields will accept any name, so the user must be careful to enter the name properly. If the name is incorrect a file will be created, but it may not upload properly.

Measurement Sequence Tab

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To begin at a specific step within a sequence, click on a step in the sequence action list and highlight it blue. Be careful! If a demagnetization step is highlighted blue in the sequence action list, the demagnetization process will start once the MEASURE button is pressed. As of November 2018 this feature does not work. 

Section Half Sample Entry

1)     Select START on the IMS panel (Figure 2) to open the sample information window (Figure 21).

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Discrete Sample Entry

1)     Click START on the IMS Control Window (Figure 2) to open the sample information window (Figure 21).

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Other features

• A black diamond next to the tray position number indicates that a sample has been assigned to this position. Click on the tray position to display information about the discrete sample in the tray information box (Figure 27).

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Each discrete sample can only be assigned to one position in the tray. If the user tries to assign the same sample ID to two positions in the tray, an error message will appear (Figure 28). Change the Sample ID.

Database Validation

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Sample Entry Caveats

• If START is pressed and the background interval and measurement interval are mismatched, the user will receive an error (Figure 32) and be sent back to the IMS-SRM main window.

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The preset must match the label type (i.e., working half preset will only accept a working half label ID). If the preset and label do not match, the user will be notified (Figure 33).

During a Measurement

Active Display

• Once MEASURE is selected, the central IMS-SRM panel (Figure 34) displays. The data are graphed as each measurement is acquired.
• As sequential demagnetization steps are completed, new lines in a new color are added to the display, allowing monitoring of changes in the inclination, declination, and intensity with each step.
• A variety of graphs can be chosen to view during measurements by selecting a different tab at the top of the screen (Figure 34). These tabs include:
  • General view (XYZ moments, inclination, declination, and intensity)
  • RAW moments
  • Drift-corrected moments
  • Background-corrected moments
  • Background and drift-corrected moments
  • Tray Background
  • Flux Counts
  • The current active measurement step is highlighted under measurement steps in the Information Panel.
  •  During the degaussing process, the active coil, the field being applied, and the status of the coil are displayed on this screen (Ramping up, Tracking, Ramping Down).

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Emergency Procedures

There are multiple features available in the IMS-SRM software and hardware for addressing SRM measurement emergencies. These features are:

• SRM Software Abort button
• SRM Hardware Abort buttons (2)
• Degausser Ramp Down Now command
• Loss of Ship’s Chill Water

SRM Software Abort Button

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Get Status: Ask the degausser for its status and display the results. See the degausser manual for specifics on what each of these codes means (Figure 39).

SRM Hardware Abort buttons

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• The user abort dialogue box (Figure 36) will appear when the hardware abort buttons are pressed. The hardware abort does not control the degausser behavior.

Ramp Down Now

Selecting Instruments > SRM: Ramp Down Now from the IMS panel menu (Figure 3) will immediately send the ramp-down command to the in-line degauss controller. If successful, the active coil will ramp down to zero.

ALWAYS check that the degausser control box tracking light is off and the zero light is on after using this command. The manual commands on the degausser should be used if for some reason the computer/software stops communicating with the degausser unit.

Loss of Ship’s Chill Water

The ship’s chill water is used to cool the Cryomech compressor, which keeps the helium lines under pressure and the SRM at superconducting temperatures.  Without chill water the Cryomech compressor will shut down and the SRM will not be operational. See Appendix A for further details on the compressor and the backup chill water system.

Special Features

A few special features are available in the IMS-SRM software to help the user facilitate the measurement process on a variety of materials. These features include:

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• Exclude Intervals
• MagSpy data visualization program
• Flux Jump Alarm
• LIMS Filters

Pause and Confirm

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Select ACCEPT to initiate the IMS-SRM program to perform the actions selected in the Pause and Confirm window.

Exclude Intervals

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MagSpy Data Visualization Program

MagSpy is opened by selecting Instruments > SRM: Display Plots from the IMS Panel menu (Figure 3), or it can be opened by double clicking the desktop icon (Figure 45).

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• Move the red vertical bar along the intensity plot to scroll through each measurement point for a section or each discrete sample in a tray.
• Only current data can be viewed.
• MagSpy includes the ship’s heading data from the WinFrog navigation system (via the JRData Server). If the data is not available, the heading will not update. No error notice will be given.
• The Print Current View Button prints the current Zijderveld plot, equal area diagram, and demagnetization plot. The command is sent immediately to the PC’s default printer.

Flux Jump Alarm

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Caution! If you are receiving a large number of flux jumps, check for cell phones or laptops in the area around the load zone that may not be in airplane mode or may be connecting via the Wi-Fi.

LIMS Filter

The LIMS filter on the sample information window (Figure 21) allows the user to reduce the number of samples they must search through when entering discrete specimens. This feature is not available for section halves.

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5)     Data Recovery

6)     Degauss Utility

Time Series Utility

The Time Series Utility runs a background measurement over an extended period of time. During this measurement, the tray is not in the SRM. Open the Time Series Utility (Figure 50) selecting Instruments > SRM: Time Series Utility from the IMS Panel menu (Figure 3). The ship’s heading is recorded along with the X, Y, Z moments.

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Select Done to close the Time Series Utility.

DAFI Utility

The DAFI utility collects and displays 3 channels of data from the National Instruments USB-6008 Multifunction I/O device (or any equivalent DAXmx compliant device) against track position. This means that the USB-6008 can be connected to the XYZ analog output of the 2G Applied Physics 520 Fluxgate or the single channel analog output of the LE Model 6010 Gauss/Teslameter (Hall Probe) and used to measure the field in the SQUID measurement region or to measure the field produced by the degauss coils. This is best done as a two-person experiment so someone can monitor the cables as the instruments are run through the SRM.

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7)     Data will be saved automatically to C:\AUX_DATA\DAFI when measurements are successfully completed.

U-Turn Utility

The U-turn utility is used when a core has been put into the SRM with the top of the core nearest the SRM. The background data is applied incorrectly in this situation, and therefore the values need to be recalculated. This utility performs the recalculations and produces data files for upload.

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When a single file is processed the U-Turn utility will display the original file, the corrected file (Figure 54), and a sample comparison window (Figure 55). The user can page between each of these windows using the tabs. Nothing will be displayed if the Process Folder button is used.

USB6008 Utility

The USB6008 Utility is a free-form utility designed to allow the user to hook up any instrument to the USB6008 (Figure 56). This can be particularly useful in locating the position of the SQUIDS and Degauss Coils when used with the Motion Widget control. During field trapping, the USB6008 can be attached and the signal of each SQUID can be monitored with this utility.

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When measurements are complete, click Done to exit.

Data Recovery Utility

During normal and background data acquisitions, all pertinent data is recorded to a LabVIEW data log file in real-time as a means to recover data in case of a hardware/software crash or file corruption.

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To recover data from the data log file select Instruments > SRM: Data Recovery from the IMS panel menu (Figure 3). Data from the data log is immediately written to both the SRM load (data upload file format) and the standard backup file (csv format). The data recovery window opens to confirm completion of operations (Figure 59).

Degauss Utility

The degauss utility can be used to send commands to the degauss controller and to retrieve the status of the degauss controller (Figure 60).  The user can ramp up, ramp down, and get the current status of each coil.  The utility will automatically ramp down after a set amount of time to prevent over heating the coils.  Get Status can be pressed while the system is ramped up or down.  If the status window appears blank, try again.  The system may have been between commands when the Get Status command was sent.  The value behind the letter A is the field the degausser is at in Gauss.  The letter following the C is the active coil.  See the degausser vendor manual for further details on what the values in the status window mean.

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File Formats and File Uploading

Data Upload Files

Data upload files are text files used by the MUT application to load acquired data into LIMS. Files with the SRM extension contain section (whole round and U-channel) data, and files with the DSC extension contain discrete data. Either file is written to the C:\DATA\IN folder where MUT will process them and then move them to the C:\DATA\ARCHIVE folder. Any file that fails to upload is moved to the C:\DATA\ERROR folder.

Sections

SRM data files are written for each sequence step and in addition to the section data, include the leader, trailer, and the two drift measurement data points.

Discrete

DSC data files are written for each sequence step and each discrete sample. These files include discrete specimen data and the two drift measurement data points (duplicated for each file). There is no leader or trailer data in this context.

Auxiliary Files

Auxiliary files are csv formatted text files written for both section and discrete data types. These are “kitchen sink” files that contain both final and intermediate calculation data, rotational data, flux counts, process values (demag level) etc. One file of this type is referenced in the data upload file between the <FILE> tags and is archived in the ASMAN database.

Sections

In a section file, each row is a single measurement starting with the Drift #1, Leader, Section, Trailer, Drift #2. File names are Sample ID, Text ID, Time stamp, and Demag level; therefore there is only one file per section per sequence step.

Section data is saved in the folder: C:\AUX_DATA\SRM\SECTION.

Discrete

In a discrete file, each row is a single measurement ordered as Drift #1, Sample, Drift #2. File names are Sample ID, Text ID, Time stamp, and Treatment; therefore there is only one file per discrete sample but it contains all of the sequence steps for that sample. Note, because of the format, repeated measurements for discrete samples will end up in the same file.

Discrete data is saved in the folder: C:\AUX_DATA\SRM\DISCRETE.

Background Files

Background files are text files written in a standard csv format. They contain the acquisition parameters, tray definition, and include both the raw and drift correct values for the SQUID’s XYZ values. Either the section or the discrete file is referenced in the data upload file between the <FILE> tags and is archived in the ASMAN database.

Sections

The filename contains the type of tray, time stamp, and treatment.

File is saved in the folder: C:\AUX_DATA\SRM\SECTION-BKGND.

Discrete

The filename contains the type of tray, time stamp, and treatment.

File is saved in the folder: C:\AUX_DATA\SRM\DISCRETE-BKGND.

Measurement Sequence File

The sequence file is a text file written in a standard ini format and contains the data that describes each sequence step (process values). This file is referenced in the data upload file between the <FILE> tags and is archived in the ASMAN database.

File is saved in the folder: C:\IMS\SRM CONFIG\Measurement Sequence\User.

SRM Configuration File

The configuration file is a text file written in a standard ini format. There is only one current configuration file that contains a snapshot of all the pertinent data that was used during acquisition. This file is referenced in the data upload file between the <FILE> tags and is archived in the ASMAN database.

File is saved in the folder: C:\IMS\CONFIG\CURRENT.

Motion Control Setup:

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• The M-Drive Motion Setup control panel will open (Figure 61).
• The user may select between four setup panels from this window.
  • Motor and Track Options
  • Fixed Positions
  • Limit and Home Switches
  • Motion Profiles

Motor and Track Options menu

Once these values have been properly set, they should not change. This panel is only for initial setup.

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Fixed Positions menu

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Note, these values along with the positions set in the Degauss-Drift Location window and the SQUID offset set in the SRM setup window are necessary to fully define the track geometry. Take a lot of care in setting these values!

Limit and Home Switches Window

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Motion Profiles

The motion profiles window can be used to adjust the speed and acceleration profiles used by the track (Figure 66) for various types of movements.

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