Design, Development and Testing of a Monitoring System for the Study of Proton Exchange Fuel Cells and Stacks.

This article is about the design, development and validation of a new monitoring architecture for individual cells and stacks to facilitate the study of proton exchange fuel cells. The system consists of four main elements: input signals, signal processing boards, analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs) and a master terminal unit (MTU). The latter integrates a high-level graphic user interface (GUI) software developed by National Instruments LABVIEW, while the ADCs are based on three digital acquisition units (DAQs).

Configurable IoT Open-Source Hardware and Software I-V Curve Tracer for Photovoltaic Generators.

Photovoltaic (PV) energy is a renewable energy resource which is being widely integrated in intelligent power grids, smart grids, and microgrids. To characterize and monitor the behavior of PV modules, current-voltage (I-V) curves are essential. In this regard, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies provide versatile and powerful tools, constituting a modern trend in the design of sensing and data acquisition systems for I-V curve tracing.

Some Hardware and Instrumentation Aspects of the Development of an Automation System for Jar Tests in Drinking Water Treatment.

The so-called Jar Test (JT) plays a vital role in the drinking water and wastewater treatments for establishing the dosage of flocculants and coagulant. This test is a well-proved laboratory instrumental procedure performed by trained personnel. In this work, a completely novel system for the automation and monitoring of a JT devoted to drinking water treatment is presented.

Integration of Sensors, Controllers and Instruments Using a Novel OPC Architecture.

The interconnection between sensors, controllers and instruments through a communication network plays a vital role in the performance and effectiveness of a control system. Since its inception in the 90s, the Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC) protocol has provided open connectivity for monitoring and automation systems. It has been widely used in several environments such as industrial facilities, building and energy automation, engineering education and many others.

Easy Handling of Sensors and Actuators over TCP/IP Networks by Open Source Hardware/Software.

There are several specific solutions for accessing sensors and actuators present in any process or system through a TCP/IP network, either local or a wide area type like the Internet. The usage of sensors and actuators of different nature and diverse interfaces (SPI, I2C, analogue, etc.) makes access to them from a network in a homogeneous and secure way more complex.

Novel Networked Remote Laboratory Architecture for Open Connectivity Based on PLC-OPC-LabVIEW-EJS Integration. Application in Remote Fuzzy Control and Sensors Data Acquisition.

In this paper the design and implementation of a network for integrating Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), the Object-Linking and Embedding for Process Control protocol (OPC) and the open-source Easy Java Simulations (EJS) package is presented. A LabVIEW interface and the Java-Internet-LabVIEW (JIL) server complete the scheme for data exchange. This configuration allows the user to remotely interact with the PLC.

A New, Scalable and Low Cost Multi-Channel Monitoring System for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells.

In this work a new, scalable and low cost multi-channel monitoring system for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFCs) has been designed, constructed and experimentally validated. This developed monitoring system performs non-intrusive voltage measurement of each individual cell of a PEFC stack and it is scalable, in the sense that it is capable to carry out measurements in stacks from 1 to 120 cells (from watts to kilowatts). The developed system comprises two main subsystems: hardware devoted to data acquisition (DAQ) and software devoted to real-time monitoring.