Architectural Constraints in Data Acquisition Design

Sammanfattning: Replacing a data acquisition system (DAQ) is a substantial and long-term investment. Siemens Energy’s R&D department is considering a new DAQ system. The equipment should be relevant for at least ten years. The system performance needs to reflect today’s requirements but also consider those of the future. Together with measurement engineers at the company, a list of specifications is written, highlighting the DAQ system requirements. Also, two parallel use cases are defined. The general architecture of a data acquisition system is analyzed. Different implementation techniques are compared when navigating through the DAQ system design process. The comparison forms a relation between the architectural constraints and the requirements. Several tradeoffs in DAQ system design have been found and discussed. Furthermore, the review of market trends indicates the technical direction of modern DAQ systems Thus, questioning the current instrument/measurement strategy.