Expedition Specific Physical Properties Notes

To add expedition specific notes that will be compiled on the Technical Report at the end of the expedition.

X402

• Xscan was run predominately on half sections for rock and sediment.  Settings were 98 kv, 0.8 mA for the sediments and 110 kv, 1.9 mA.
• CRIO lost communication multiple times during expedition.  It appears to be doing this while the source is ramping down automatically after use.  The entire system had to be restarted.
• Program often freezes when going to run a seasoning on the source or the spare source.  Restarting the software usually results in the system functioning properly and ramping up.

X400

Two gear belts for tracks motors were received and put in the drawer "Track Hardware" (PPTRKF4).

X399

About 950 m of serpentinite and gabbro were recovered in two sites (U1309D and U1601), mostly at Site U1601, a.k.a. the Lost City, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The presence of asbestiform minerals in serpentinite at Site U1601 forced us to adapt core handling and processing several times during the expedition.

Physical Properties Laboratory

WRND measurements (WRMSL - GRA and MS, no P-wave-, and NGR) were conducted on all recovered cores, and duplicated on sections which were initially uncurated and curated later on. Shipboard discrete measurements on cubes, P-wave velocity and MAD, were halted during the expedition, before resuming once a protocol was decided. Scientists used section pieces for P-wave in absence of discrete cubes and residues of microbiological samples for MAD. Thermal conductivity measurements were done on archive half pieces.

XSCAN was for the first time used onboard to support structural observations and shipboard sampling strategy. Scientists did not process the images because of (i) lack of time and (ii) the image processing did not improve the raw image. All split sections, either working or archive, of Site U1601 were imaged. Last cores recovered at U1601 were not split and no WRND images were taken.

The Kimble vials for the MAD analysis and the corresponding Al inserts for the pycnometer cells were tested. Some inserts need adjustments. MAD analysis and computation is good. A few Wheaton and Kimble vials were borrowed by the Chem Lab to weigh flux and mix with sample for ICP measurements.

The Area Monitor of the laser engraver was changed to the new calibrated one and the one aboard the JR was shipped to shore for calibration at the end of the expedition.

New and old needles and probes for thermal conductivity measurements were tested.

Refer to the Expedition 399 Physical Properties Technical Report and respective instrument Confluence pages for more details.

Software Summary

• New IMS release (v14) required testing and debugging on all tracks.
• Windows Updates on all workstations.

Logistics

Received onboard

• Kimble vials (weighed) for MAD measurements (box located below the MAD workstation)

Shipped to shore

Sent to shore for calibration:

Requisitions

• No Items

X398

Approximately 3500m of sediment core were recovered in twelve sites (U1589 to U1600) close to the Santorini island in Greece.

More than 1100 MAD samples were taken and more than 9000 Pwave Gantry caliper tests, 400 AVS measurements and 200 penetrometer tests were done.

For further information about the expedition, please visit the X398 Physical Properties Lab Notebook,ETs Report and Imaging Specialist Report.

Physical Properties Laboratory

• Whole round core flow for APC/XCB was: NGRL, room temperature, WRMSL. Measurement interval on WRMSL was 2.5 cm. NGR was set to measure in two positions during 300 sec each.
• Whole round core flow for RCB was: NGRL, WRMSL, no wait for room temperature. The temperature equilibrium was not waited before measuring with the WRMSL because P Wave measurements were not taken on RCB cores. Also cores arrived to the laboratory relatively warm.
• XRAY images were taken in section halves at the interest intervals by structural geologists.
• STMSL was used for correlation purposes.

During this period inventory updates and instruments information were added to Confluence. 

Due to the scientists requests in past expeditions, and this one included, an explanation about how TCON_CALC data are calculated while data are uploaded to the database has been added to Confluece.

Log sheets laboratory data policy changed:

Before the end of the expedition log sheets should be scanned and placed in the appropriate instrument folder in DATA1. If the log sheet is not associated to a current folder, place them in the subfolder  '1.9 Laboratory Log Sheets'.

They could be organized by site or one file for the whole expedition. They should be saved in pdf format, by log sheet type and named following the convention "logsheets_[analysis]_[exp and/or site].pdf". For example "logsheets_TCON_398-U1590.pdf".

They could be requested by a sailing scientist, if not they should be discarded at the end of the expedition.

Software Summary

• NGR station still has to be logged with .\daq user. Developers and MCs are working in solving this issue.
  
• MAD station is still using an old computer due to hardware requirements.
• Windows updates performed:
  • 18/19 December and 16 January: No main issues
    • On January 16th, STMSL asked for the SHIP version of MUT, it was reinstalled, no problems after that.
    • On January 16th, WRMSL: AR700 loose communication with IMS. Uplugging it from the usb box and plug it again worked to solved the issue. This issue couldn't be related with the updated (See WRMSL report).

Logistics

Received onboard

• 2 Carbo Instruments pressure gauges (located in PP-4G drawer).
  

Requisitions

• No Items

X397

• Expedition 397 was a high core recovery, extracting approximately 6176m of sediment at a total of four sites. The data resolution was 2 centimeters changing in some holes to 4 cm, and in the case of SHMSL to 5cm in the last site.
• WRMSL was measured at 2cm of intervals for all data (GRA, MS and Pwave).

Logistics

Received onboard: none

X397T

Approximately 242 m of core (sediment and hard rock) was recovered from two sites (U1584A & U1585A).

• Whole round core flow for sediments (RCB) was: room temperature, WRMSL, NGR. 
• Whole round core flow for hard rock was: room temperature, WRMSL, NGR.
• PWave measurements on the WRMSL were not taken.
• ThermCom measurements were not taken.
• MAD samples were taken where flagged ,and in the upper lithologies, they were taken were the Tech deemed appropriate (one/section was requested).

Software Summary

• When dealing with hard rock there was an issue with the updated IMS. When running all hard rock cores through the WRMSL and NGR (as well as the SHIL) IMS was taking the LIMS core length from the catwalk measurement instead of the curated measurement. This issue would cause the instrument to only sample the length that was listed in IMS, if the curated length was 120 cm but the catwalk/IMS length was 10 cm the instrument would only measure 10 cm. The lengths had to be manually entered on the WRMSL and NGR, but could not be edited on the SHIL. The Application Developers had to manually pull the information from LIMS to fix this issue and more information can be found in their report.
• After completing the requested Windows Update on the NGR computer the MUT Version 2.0 program wouldn't open. The Application Developer was informed of this issue but was unable to get MUT Version 2.0 to work, even after removing the reinstalling the program. A work around was created by reuploading MUT Version 1.0, which works with no issues. The issue needs to be identified so that MUT Version 2.0 can be re-installed and used for Expedition 397. More information can be found in the Application Developers report.

Logistics

Received onboard

• All items were received during 397P.

Requisitions

• No requisitions were made.

X397P

• Exp 397P was a one month tie up in Cape Town, South Africa.  The PCs in the labs were replaced (instrument hosts and workstations) during this tie up and an upgrade to IMS version 13.0 (with updated sample entry window) was completed.  Due to these changes, work was focused on correctly installing the software for each instrument, testing communications and functionality, and addressing on going software bugs.  No major changes were implemented in the lab.
• Kick the tires activity was the main focus of this tie up.  All Instrument hosts and general lab PCs were replaced with new PCs.  Following the replacement, testing on each track was completed. We also worked to correct reported bugs in the software.
• NI-Max documents were updated for each track to reflect all updates and changes made during the tie up.

• All IMS tracks were upgraded to IMS 13.0, which has a new sample entry window.  The main change is the whole round tracks can be set to take section half entries when scanning labels. If the user leaves the selection on 'full' the software will function as it always has, elevating section half label scans to section label information.  If the user selects 'half' the software will accept and use section half labels.  The Core list in the LIMS entry window was also reversed to put the last core entered at the top of the list.

  The NI Max communications setup documents were updated for WRMSL, STMSL, SHIL, SHMSL, NGR, and Gantry.  Note that some tracks have NI Max Tasks now that must also be set up in order for the track to work properly.

  Testing followed the "Does my Instrument really work?" documents found on Confluence.  

  Software bugs from the Confluence list were addressed as possible on each track.

  • As part of the instrument-host replacement LabVIEW was upgraded from LV 2021 to LV 2021 SP1.  SP1 contained a number of security patches along with other bug fixes.
  • IMS was upgraded from version 12.0 to 13.0.
  • New version includes the following changes. 
    1. Replaced old i3 JSON libraries with newer, more robust JSONText libraries.
    2. Refactored Sample Select interface to handle wider variety of sample / label types.
    3. Other minor bug fixes.

Logistics

Received onboard

• ???

X393

Summary

• Approximately 775m of core (sediment and hard rock) were recovered in four sites (U1559, U1558, U1583 and U1560).
• This expedition was the last one of a set of four expeditions (X390C, X395E, X390 and X393).
• Some of the cores were recovered in previous expeditions and split or remeasured in this one. Comments have been added to the data base to provide more clarity in future research.
• Whole round core flow for sediments: STMSL, Oxigen, NGRL, room temperature, WRMSL, Rizoms. Measurement interval on WRMSL and SHMSL was 2.5 cm. NGR was set to measure in two positions during 300 sec each.
• Whole round core flow for hard rocks: DMT, NGR, XMSL (when done), room temperature, WRMSL.
• XRAY images were taken in section halves in sediments and in whole rounds in hard rock in U1559, U1558, also in hard rock section halves at the interest intervals on site U1583.
• Pwave measurements on the WRMSL were taken only in APC and half APC cores.
• PMAG and MAD shared samples. The flow was: Initial weigh, PMAG measurements, weigh wet, bath during 12 hours, P Wave measurements, oven at 105oC during 24 h, desiccator 3 h, weigh dry and volume measurements.

• Confluence instruments inventories have been updated.
• PP instruments are ready for testing after X397P computers change.

Software Summary

• TRANSFER folder was created in the Desktop of each station to easiest the process of changing stations during X397P.
• On three occasions the work station used by the PP technician tried to reboot itself while in use. (13 July 11:30, 16 July 11:45 and August 2 at 00:00). Technician aborted the reboot. Each time, the windows were the technician was working got closed what implies a loose of time for the technician until everything was ready for work again. This issue has also happen more times but the technician was not present in the station.
  
• All the computers in the PP Lab that have LabVIEW installed presented an error window (Date: 22 June 2022, 23:50). The error was related to a Crowdstrike update. The only instrument that was measuring in that moment was the WRMSL, the error stopped the track while measuring the core. After talking with the MCs we agree that they should contact the PP technician in charge before doing the update to avoid future issues.

• Windows updates performed (17-18 June): No issues.
• More Windows updates have been done at the end of July, PP technitian or ALOs were not notified that the updates were going to be made.
  

Items Received Onboard:

• 4 TeKa Half Space Pucks (TCON) - sn 11080, 11083, 11089, 11090
• Syringe pump sn P307225
• Desiccant bags (TCON pucks).
• TYGON tubing 8 mm arrived. Pending to test if it works properly on the Pwave pump.
  
• Box of silicone tubing size 16.
• Box of silicone tubing size 14 (P-wave pump). Didn't arrive. Requisition set again on X393.

Requisitions

• Box of silicone tubing size 14 (P-wave pump).
• 1 TeKa mini Half Space Puck (TCON)

X390

Summary

124 cores were acquired from the bottom of the ocean, 34 APC, 19 XCB and 71 RCB, sediment cores were measured in fast track with 10 cm of resolution and NGR in two position. After at lease 4 hours in the rack they were measured in WRMSL, oxygen then ThermCon and finally take the Rhizo samples.

For hard rock core the P-Wave was turned off

Countertops for Gantry and SHMSL stations were sanded, varnished in transit and re installed in port.

Items Received Onboard:

• Arrived new mini puck H51033 (item id 043980), probe archive has installed on puck database. Pen drive with info, has stored on ThermCon PPTRKF3 drawer.
• New caliper, item 043973 stored on MAD drawer.
• QEPro tag # 90900.
• Oil container for PWave

Items Sent to shore

• TermCon pucks (without cables, they are stored as spare) has sended to D. Houpt:

H11028
H11038
H51027 (mini puck)
H51018 (mini puck)

• Ludlum Area Monitor 53675 and the two Ludlum detectors (53676 and 53677) were sent to shore for their annual calibration.
  
• X-Ray source (pn 91132). Sent to be reviewed for the vendor.
  

X392

Summary

• It was great to have scientists again in the PP lab. During this expedition the lab had the support of four scientists onboard and one onshore. Their contributions and procedures reviews had been very useful and inspiring.
• Approximately 2000 m of core (sediment and hard rock) were recovered in four sites (U1579 to U1582).
  
• Core flow started with NGRL measurements, continuing with the other tracks after cores reached the room temperature. This flow allowed to save time during the measurements, allowing to eliminate the bottleneck that normally constitutes the NGRL.
• Measurement interval on WRMSL and SHMSL was 2.5 cm. The WRMSL was also used as fast track. NGR was set to measure in two positions during 300 sec each.
• XRAY images were taken at the interest intervals.
• In the last hole Gantry P-Wave measurements were taken for each section of the core.
• Pwave measurements on the WRMSL were taken also for RCB and XCB cores.

Software Summary

• Windows updates performed:
  • 9/10 February: No issues
  • 22/23 February: No Issues
  • 10 March: PP technician was not notified. Minimal fixes were done to the tracks before the scientists start to measure again.
    
• IMS: Last IMS version was saved on VSP on March 25th, 2022. (Last one was Nov 2021).

Items Received Onboard:

• 1 spare set of Ocean Insights fibral optical cables for the SHMSL (Ordered during X396T):
  • QBIF600-UV-BX: UV-Visible bifurcated optical fibers assembly, 2 m, stainless steel BX jacket 
  • QP600-2-UV-BX: UV-Visible optical fibers assembly patch cord, 2 m, stainless steel BX jacket.
• 4 spare Gantry Caliper springs: 1" shaft diameter, 0.019" thick, 2" high, 30 lbs. load (McMaster-Carr item # 1561T64) (Ordered during X396T).
• 2 thermometers for use in the laboratory.
  

Items Sent to shore

• SHIL's old lighting system.

Requisitions

• 1 Caliper (PP Lab)
  
• New Syringe water-pump (WRMSL)
• Box of silicone tubing size 16.
• Box of silicone tubing size 14 (P-wave pump).
• 50 ft of Norprene tubing (P-wave pump).
• Desiccant bags (TCON pucks).
  
• QEPro tag # 90900, will be returned to the ship after vendor's calibration.
• 2 TeKa Half Space Pucks (TCON)
  

X391

Summary

Expedition 391 recovered approximately 953 meters of core from four different drilling sites: U1575, U1576, U1577 and U1578. The three physical properties scientists onboard received the appropriate training at the beginning of expedition in use and safety practices to operate the WRMSL, the NGR, Gantry (Velocity P-wave), the ThermCon, and the AVS. No X-Ray images were taken during the expedition. SHIL and SHMSL were operated by the description scientists. The expedition laboratory notebook was updated with the technological and mechanical issues encountered while utilizing the Individual Measurement Systems (IMS) software and laboratory devices.

Received onboard

• 2 new fans as spare to SHIL lights 2.36" p/n 1939K58 (PPTRKF2)
• 2 spare temperature controllers for the SHIL

Items Sent: NONE

Gantry

• Gantry system lost communication with the Exlars on all 3 instruments.  A fresh driver install did not correct the issue.  We then found that the communication settings in the Windows Control Panel for the 485 devices had been reset to default "4-wire."  This must be set to 2 wire auto by an MCS in the control panel.  Verify the settings have also been updated in NI-Max.  This communication issue was noted on a previous expedition.  This reset to default is likely related to Windows updates that occur periodically.
• When Gantry software was initialized the communication to the bayonets and caliper did not initialize properly.  Over Current limits were found when ever the system was going to home on any of the Exlar devices.  Because the track homes at start up, the instruments were going into an error state at start up and could not finish initializing.  Solution: We checked and rechecked the actuator settings and synced with the config file.  We also reset the home and the negative and positive limits for each instrument.  It is unclear as to why the over current limit was occurring in the first place and it is unclear what caused it to start working again.

NGR

• A length cumulative error was detected in titanium boat displacement, at 50 cm was 0.5 cm less than correct length and at 150cm the displacement was approx 0.8cm.

we check the displacement system at the end of the rail and adjust the belt pulley screw (belt tension was not adjusted), and the displacement error was corrected.

• NGR IMS code was updated to ensure track returns to home at the end of a measurement.  The program was also updated to display the sample information window at the end of a measurement.  A user no longer has to select Start after every NGR run before scanning the next section label.  Code changes were made in the NGR DAQ Action Array Builde.vi.  The Move Home and User Info commands were inserted into the vi in the "No Scan" case.

SHMSL

Light bulb was changed in halogen source , the integration time was 0.77 and with the new bulb is 0.22

SHIL

-Change made to SHIL IMS program to facilitate the upload of the high resolution RGB data. 

• In the ImageRGBDataWriter.vi, the RGB High Res Global path and file component name "rgb_high_res" were added to the Section and Control Data Paths.  This results in the file path for the high resolution data file being written to the "FILE" section of the RGB file.
• The GetSingleData.vi was edited to remove the RGB High Resolution file path from the LSIMG file
• The High Resolution RGB data is available in the Expanded RGB report.  The file extension is rgb.dat

-January 20th,2022- SHIL right hand side temperature controller failed.  The alarm triggered at 50 degrees C.  The heating element was constantly applying heat to the system.  A new temperature controller was installed by the SIEM electricians.  Technical staff input the same settings into the temperature controller as the previous controller.  Settings for the controller were documented and placed in the lab notebook.  The old controller was placed in the drawer and marked "Failed 391, further testing required."  The temperature controller is now on the PP check out sheet as item number PP5024.

X396T

• PP User Guides has been standardized. Now both QSG and UG have the same structure. UG, also have been modified and updated adding the latest improvements to the instruments. Vendor contact and links to related documentation have been removed from the UG and added to the PP Notebook Confluence page, under 'Information for the PP technician'.
• PP Logger Checklists updated to incorporate existing changes in the new version of IMS.

Software Summary

• Windows 10 software updates were made on October 21, without major issues. MAD and SHMSL present some communication issues that were solved when MADMax and IMS were restarted.
• LabVIEW was upgraded in all the computers to version 21. Depending on the track 32 bits or 64 bits version was used. Tracks using 32 bits: NGR, WRMSL and STMSL.
  
  • NI usb-cables loose his ports or get swapped during the upgrading in most of the instruments. Renaming them or match them with the correct serial number cable solved the issue in all the instruments, except the Gantry. It is important to know that the ASLR or COM number doesn't need to match exactly the display that we have before the upgrade. What has to match is the serial number of the cable with the instrument to which it is connected.
  • Some instruments lost communication with the software. Unplug and plug them again re-established communication.
  • Check developers report for further information.
• During LabVIEW upgrading, NIMAX Configuration Export File and Report were generated and saved into C:\ProgramData\ IODP\IMS\NIMAX_DOCUMENTS. They could be used to check ports configuration after updates or changes in the track, also to reload the configuration setup if several issues occurred. Together with these files a screen shot of NIMAX and Panel Control ports was added to this folder.
• IMS software was updated to it last version, v.12. Some of the changes are:
  • Standardize the program to the maximum so that it can be used by all tracks,
  • Implement the rotary motion that will be used on the XSCAM,
  • Changes in the dialog windows and on DAQ-Engine,
  • Model and serial number of track instruments was added to the Header of the Data File, allowing more efficient monitoring of the instruments used. 
• Bill Mills and developers went through the reported software issues in the tracks, intending to have them solved by the end of the expedition. 

Received onboard

• Ludlum Area Monitor 53675 and the two Ludlum detectors (53676 and 53677) were sent to shore for their annual calibration.

Sent to shore

• Bottle with Th power.

Requisitions

• 4 spare Gantry Caliper springs: 1" shaft diameter, 0.019" thick, 2" high, 30 lbs. load (McMaster-Carr item # 1561T64).
  
• 1 spare set of Ocean Insights fibral optical cables for the SHMSL:
  • QBIF600-UV-BX: UV-Visible bifurcated optical fibers assembly, 2 m, stainless steel BX jacket 
  • QP600-2-UV-BX: UV-Visible optical fibers assembly patch cord, 2 m, stainless steel BX jacket.

X396

• Approximately 2000 m of core (sediment and hard rock) was recovered.
• We had 2 instances when the entire server system crashed after the UPS unit failed.  We were able to continue running tracks by manually entering the ID information and lengths.  Data was stored locally on the computer until the server was restored and uploads could continue.
• PP scientists took mini cores from whole rounds to run on the Gantry, results seemed promising.  But issues with scanning labels since they are discrete samples from a section, not a section half.  Programmers had to write a script to replace the XXX put in to the name by the IMS program to get files to upload.
• The whole round tracks were very slow to recognize the top of the core section.  There is a long delay between triggering the top of core switch and the section moving to the first measurement position.

Items Received Onboard:

• New aluminum trays.  Many of which were given to the chemistry lab as they are very heavy and seemed better suited for IW samples.
• New Ludlum area monitor 54029-001 and 2 Gamma detectors 54030-001 and 54031-001.  
• NGR Standards in silver case were delivered.  They are under the NGR loading area.  David has requested testing be done with these, but we did not have time during this expedition.  We also received some powders, that were put with the NGR standard disks.  It is unclear what these powders are for.

Items Sent to shore

• No items sent

X395C

Approximately 2500 m of core was processed in the PP laboratory ( 2200 m of sediment and 300 of hard rock).

Core flow for hard rock was: 360SHIL - TRACKS - SPLIT - TCON - GANTRY. It works really well. MAD, TCON and Pwave measurements were taken each core, when the advance changed to 5 m, the measurements were taken each other core, when possible on the same core as the MBIO sample.

Continue the updating Confluence inventories and adding instruments information and calibrations to its pages.

Settings of the instruments during the expedition:

Software Summary

Last Windows software updates were made on July 20, without major issues.

QCViewer, developed by James Zhao, was used to verify the standards data on the WRMSL.

Received onboard

• New NGR UPS. It is storage under the NGR table.

Sent to shore

• QEPro 91127 and 90900 sent to shore at the end of the expedition. QEPro 90900 will be send back to the ship after recalibration.
• Ludlum Area Monitor 53675 and the two Ludlum detectors (53676 and 53677) were sent to shore for their annual calibration.

X395E

Received onboard

• New rope to X-Ray door, stored on ledge over X-Ray
• Elastic straps for the ThermCon stored in PPTRKA1 drawer.

X395P

•  TCON QSG and Torvane & Penetrometer QSG were reviewed and updated in Confluence. With this two guides the updating of instrument improvements, and the unification of format and structure of the guides, is concluded for QSG.

X390R

XMSL wood shield door were repaired adding epoxy glue in to the holes and re insert the screws in the same place, no new screw holes was added.

A pdf version of log sheets has added to confluence for to quick print of the files.

Logistics: 

• Arrived: 3 m of high-temperature silicon o-ring cord stock for the SHMSL sensors (PN 96505K24). Stored at SHMSL drawer PPTRKF3
• Arrived: 10 NGR coaxial cable. (Mouser electronics) p/n 736-MSB00250LTE150. Stored in NGR drawer NGR1 
• Arrived: New NGR sources for Cesium, Cobalt, Uranium and Thorium.
• Sent: One Minolta spectrophotometer sent to IODP for a shore project.
• Had John Miller order 6 extra NGR fans (PP5016) to make a complete spare rack, but did not up RSL in AMS.

X390C

• Physical Properties Notebook page was actualized on Confluence. Following the recommendations of LOs, ALOs, technicians and lasts tech reports the Phys Props page was reviewed and actualized. This page needs to be reviewed for the oncoming crew.
  • The "old" PP Page was saved and Archived under 'Info for Physical Properties Technicians'. If the first notebook PP page wants to be recovered, v340 should be used (March 4, 2020), after this date structural changes started to be implemented.
  • During past months two different PP Notebook pages has been used. All the changes in both of them were compiled onto the actual page.
  • In order to unify and standardize the format of the Laboratory pages, "Actual" Notebook PP Page follows the Chemistry Lab Page (designed by Johanna Suhonen).
  • "Actual" page allows clear first view of tracks' status and an easy way to find laboratory related information.
  • Main difference with the initial PP page is that each track has each own page, before all the lab information was listed in the same page. Mentioned division allows the user to find the related information faster.

Each track is listed on the left side of the main page. In the page, the information is organized by expedition and date. Newer information is at the top. On the right side of the page user could find links to instrument user guides, vendor manuals, tests and other resources.

• • Important related laboratory information could be found on the right side of the main page. These are the different sections:
    • ´Expedition Specific Physical Properties Notes´: It is designed to add expedition general notes that could be compiled on the Technical Report. It is also organized by expedition.
    • 'Info for Physical Properties technicians': Useful information for the technician could be find here, like vendor manuals, laboratory templates, configuration files , IMS , other software resources, laboratory resources, archived information and inventories. 

At present following inventories can be consulted:

• • • • Bartington MS Detectors and Sensors
      • Laser
      • QEPro spectrometers
      • NI items inventory (under construction)
      • Teledyne, X-Ray Imager sources
      • SHIL cameras
      • Pycnometer cells
      • TCON needles and probes
      • Radioactive sources

• • • 'Physical Properties Laboratory Task List': Reserved for pending tasks at the end of the expedition. It will be a way to communicate with the technician in charge on the next expedition.
    • 'Physical Properties Laboratory Issues': Links to Physical Properties Software Issues table and to the link to report new software issues.
    • 'Tech Reports': Links to 'Archived Tech Reports' page.
    • 'Physical Properties Books and References': Assigned for useful information for scientists, like published articles and formally referenced academic works.
    • 'Vendor's Troubleshooting Information': See further information above.

• Following the recommendation of Eric Moortgat, NI (National Instruments) inventory was added to the list of inventories that can be reviewed on Confluence (Under 'Info for Physical Properties Technicians'). This inventory not only contain model, serial number and location information of the item, but also its inputs and outputs and alternative models for items that the vendor is not providing anymore. As well, it will be very useful for understand how each station works, and for troubleshooting purposes (This inventory is under construction).

      

• 'Vendor's Troubleshooting Information' page was created trying to cover the lack of information that the technician onboard has when a instrument was sending to the vendor for repair. This list will contain the description of the problem, dates when the instrument was sent and received and as much information as possible about vendor's diagnosis and reparation, it could be useful to add also communication emails with the vendor. Information could be add by the technitian onboard if the information is received on the ship, or by personnel onshore, if they have the contact with the vendor or the information was received together with the instrument.

• WRMSL/STMSL, NGR, XMSL, SHMSL, GANTRY and SHIL checklists were reviewed and added to Confluence. Heather Barnes, Brittany Martinez and Luan Heywood reviewed the feasibility of implementing of the checklists. 
• Along with Alexis Armstrong and Heather Barnes onboard, and Alejandro Avila and Aaron Deloach onshore, WRMSL/STMSL, NGR, XMSL, SHMSL, GANTRY and SHIL Quick Start Guides were reviewed and added to Confluence. They are focused on the elemental steps that a user needs to follow to accomplish correct measurements, upload and review the data. Deeper theory and information about the station will be found on the User Guides (in process).
• Reviewed SHMSL User Guide including the changes made during X387P is added to Confluence. It will be Under the SHMSL page for further review before adding it to the User Guide´s page.

Logistics

Requisitions

• 100 ft of 1/8" black lifting rope. To use on the X-Ray and other required purposes.
• 3ft of high-temperature silicon o-ring cord stock for the SHMSL sensors (PN 96505K24).

Sent to shore

• TCON Half-Space Puck sn H11040 for recalibration. Reported low values during October 2020 test (See Thermal Conductivity section).

X390P II

See expedition technical report. 

X384/390P I

See expedition technical report.

X387P/387T

General Notes & Comments:

• PCs in the core lab had been upgraded with Windows 10 and LabVIEW 19 was installed. Several tests were performed to ensure all stations are working properly.
• IMS code was upgraded to version 11.1 on all the tracks. The changes implemented were:
  • Unified IMS software code, with specifications to cover the differences between them. 
  • A complete review of the IMS code was performed in order to have cleaner and more functional programs.
  • An Emergency Stop advice box pops up on the screen when the Emergency Stop is activated, allowing options for continue measurement, stop or moving to load position.
  • Recognition of DAQ position was added to the code, in order to continue measurements correctly after activating Emergency Stop or Abort.
  • All lasers follow the same code, improvements to the code were made and now the measurements are more accurate and stable.
  • AR700 laser measurement was improve in order to make the measurements more stable. It is not necessary anymore to manually reset the Laser.
  • There are two different IMS codes for AR700 laser, one for work with movement (SHMSL) other for measurements taken on the same plane (WR-tracks and GANTRY).
  • Exlar actuators code was modified, allowing the user to have better control on the measurements. New utility was added to GANTRY IMS for this purpose.
  • New IMS utilities have been generated for SHMSL and GANTRY. See each for farther information.
  • MS3 meters were added to the code.
• WRMSL and STMSL, XRAY, NGR, SHIL, GANTRY and SHMSL User Manuals will be reviewed during next weeks in order to reflect the changes on hardware and software. New manuals will be generated for certain new utilities that were implemented during this expedition, like the Exlar actuators utility on the Gantry.
• Cables were cleaned and organized on the FWD column of stations (AVS, GANTRY, SHIL and SHMSL). Exlar actuator and SHMSL cables were plugged to power boxes.
• MS2 meters were replaced by MS3 meters, which are faster. They were installed on AFT Whole Round Logger, FWD Whole Round Logger, SHMSL and SRM. MS2 meters are kept onboard. Appropriate IMS changes were done.
• There are four MS3 meters onboard, all of them are installed on tracks. There are no MS3 spares onboard.
• Tests were performed on the stations using the 'Check list sheets'. Comments to the sheets will be documented during the next few weeks.
• NI USB-232 and USB-485 lost their configuration on some of the tracks after Windows 10 upgrade. Solution was to uninstall and install them again.
• Instruments inventory (Bartington instruments, JAI cameras and TCON needles and probes) and radioactive NGR was added to Confluence. See this report. 
• There was a ≈ 1 hour black-out in April:
  • During the black out NGR was shut down improperly and it lost the communication with the usbCAN.
  • MAD balances lost the COM configuration.
  • See the instrument report for more information.

• Proposal for PP Technicians:
  • Agree on how to calibrate the NGR.
  • Changes on the PP Lab Confluence Notebook Page were made to make it easier to navigate and keep the same structure in the different labs.
    • It was saved as "Test Physical Properties Laboratory Notebook".
    • Modifications will be finished during upcoming weeks.
    • Main changes are: Information is organized by instrument instead by expedition, events were reported from newer (on the top of the page) to older and each station has his own page.
    • Expedition 387P/387T is written in this new page.
    • This page is pendant to approve by the other PP technicians.
  • Create a page on Ship Confluence with vendor’s information about the issues found or modifications done to the instruments that were sent to review. This page will allowed the onboard technician to quickly check  the information in case he needs it during troubleshooting an instrument. A proposal for the page will be sent during upcoming weeks.

Logistics

Requisitions

• 3 Exlar Actuator communication cables. Spares.
• Gantry springs, stronger that the ones than are actually installed, for performing more testing.
• SHMSL fiber optic wires. Spares.

Sent to shore

• QEPro PN: 90899 and QEPro PN: 91126 (April 21, 2020). Shipped to vendor for review.
• Old SHIL cameras: JAI 3CCD LINESCAN CV-L107CL sn:L170543B and L170542B (PN: 90590 and 90591) sent to IODP to store (May 2020).

Received onboard

• 4 new nut-shaped solenoids for the pycnometer (March 2020)
• QEPro 02180 (April 21, 2020).
• JAI 3CCD LINESCAN SW-2001T-CL-F, SN L200725A, PN 91171 (April 2020)
• 4 NGR radioactive standard cylinders (March 2020).

Pending to received

• Kits for vacuum pumps.
• Load cell for the Gantry.

Pending Tasks

• Fix the bolt holes on X-Ray door and renew the neoprene on the source box.
• Test AVS
• Fix the bolt holes on X-Ray door and renew the neoprene on the source box.
• Test AVS
• Change cable on starboard side X-Ray door.
  
• Add chocks to the GRA source
• Clean and grease P-Wave on the FWD Whole Round Logger
• Add LORE columns info to the Manuals.
• Finish the new PP Lab Notebook Page on Confluence.
• Add a real ruler to the side of the SHMSL.
• Implement vendor's information page on Confluence.
• New labels on Track drawers.
• Make MS standards list and procedure to measure them.
• Complete last IODP calibration date on the Bartington list.

IMS SOFTWARE CHANGES

IMS 10.3 has been replaced by IMS 11.1 due to the significant changes made to the code necessary to address reported issues.  A new SVN repository has been started named “IMS” (dropping the 10 from the name).

• DAQ ENGINE Plug-Ins

To obtain a consistent ABORT behavior for all tracks the following changes were made:

• Activating the hardware abort button will cause a “stall” error on the M-drive, which can now be trapped by the IMS software to issue an ABORT command as if the user had clicked the software abort button on the screen. Note, a stall error only occurs is the track is moving or attempts to move.  If you engage the hardware abort button during data acquisition nothing will happen until acquisition is complete and the next move command is issued.
• The “oops! Continue” command now works.  There still maybe an edge case where it will fail to produce the expected results. For most situations, the track will just repeat the last move and start the next acquisition without doubling the data.  Since all moves are absolute, if the track is already in position you see no change, if not it will complete the move.  This is true for the GRA and RSC calibrations and for the WRMSL and SHMSL control measurements, as well. 
• For the SHMSL profile measurement and the SHIL. The “continue” option will cause the measurement to start over. 
• The “continue” option will cause the XMSL to delete any partial image and start imaging over at the same location.
• The following changes were made to the code:
  • How the ACTION step array is built is consistent across the tracks
  • Blank SCTION steps are removed before execution.
  • Replaced unique track vis with vis from the IMS_Common to insure consistent behavior.
  • Eliminated the option to try to save partial data files, this just lead to problems in the database. Tracks like the SRM and XMLS have other methods to protect against data loss.

Additional modifications to the DAQ Engine:

• Added MOVE TO UNLOAD and AT UNOAD methods: these were missing methods for calling functionality provided by the M-DRIVE code
• Added CALL UTILITY: Like the MENU CALL, this method will provide the ability to for the DAQ engine to call multiple types of instrument utilities rather than “re-use or hijacking/hacking” of other functions.  This will result in cleaner code for tracks like the NGR and SRM, which have multiple configuration and testing utilities.
• The DAQ Engine can call directly any DAQ level functions listed on the DAQ dropdown menu rather than calling down to the instrument level and back up to IMS UI level. Again, cleaner code path to follow.

• MOTION

• In addition to adding the AR700 capabilities (see below), a number of small issues were addressed:
  • Added the methods for moving to the unload position and checking if the track is at the unload position.
  • Added the ability to sense a Stall condition. This is how the hardware abort button is detected.

• XMSL:
• Fix the issue of dark images:
• Added x-ray on time to the private data structure.
• Modified the GOSCAN acquisition source code to use new the X-ray on time value rather than the FPD exposure time.
• In the GOSCAN setup window the user must enter the maximum ON time for the x-ray source (300-900 sec)
• In addition, the menu on the hardware must be set for “long time”.

• SHIL:
• Modified the code to support the new light system:
• Removed “Line Light” code and replaced with code using the Phidget dll to operate an on/off switch. This is a temporary patch until we purchase the correct CompactRIO device for controlling the lights.
• Modified track behavior to shut down lights on ABORT.
• Modified track behavior to park the lights of the core in the load position.
• Removed the line-light configuration controls in the JAI Camera Utility.

• SHMSL:
• Y-Lift Utility: Updated with new features do that the user can set the instrument and calibration offsets.

• NGR:
• Fixed issues with profile timestamp and offset calculations.
• Added timestamp indicators to the calibration UI.

 

INSTRUMENTS Plug-Ins

In general

• Calibration time stamps and graphs were added to the Setup Windows to show the current calibration (View only) where appropriate.
• Offline instruments do not create blank data files.

QEPro

• RSC “calibration only” function works
• RSC calibration time expiration works correctly

AR700:

Major code clean up and rework:

• Eliminated multiple copies of stand-alone AR700 code use by the PWL, VELOCITY, and SHMSL. All of the instruments now work from the same I_PI_AR700 code.
• Stabilized the distance measurements down to 3 places by tuning hardware parameters and adding a signal filter to the code. This may allow for the Energy Ratio used on the PWL to work on the VELOCITY track, additional testing needed.
• Explicitly synced motion and profile measurements by adding a AR700 method call to the M-Drive’s MOTION plug-in. This change also allows the AR700 to function as switch for home positioning.
• Because laser measurements support many other instruments, the Public MOTION data structure has been modified to share AR700 distance data with the INST and DAQ plug-ins.
• Added Vis and Cntls to IMS_Common to support the above changes

 

AR1000:

Modified to have the same features as the AR700.  The code is now part of IMS_Common

VELOCITY:

Reworked the entire application code to support the new hardware changes:

EXLARS:

• Added an EXLAR Utility that allows the user to configure EXLAR actuators without using the “Expert Software”. It nearly replaces all of the Expert Software function and diagnostic capabilities.  Benefits are:
  • No longer need to quit the VELOCITY program to configure the EXLAR, changes can be made in real time.
  • Allows the user to un-jamb and recover control of the EXLAR
  • User can update the internal non-volatile memory to save configuration changes.
• Home switch added to all EXLAR stations.
• The user can set soft motion limits with the following benefits:
  • Prevents jamb-offs when the actuator is fully retracted.
  • Can be used to prevent the bayonets from contacting the core liner by setting the maximum extension.
• Caliper hardware and software changes provides consistent transducer contact pressure.  Contact pressure can be changed by changing the spring stiffness or by adjusting the contact point on the motion limit switch.
• EXLAR status indicators have been added to a tab on the main UI screen.

 VELOCITY UI

• Split the calibration process for the Bayonets and Calipers into two separate interfaces.
• Bayonet calibration process remains unchanged.
• To address know Caliper calibration issues we have gone back to the old method of calibration by measuring a set of standards with the same velocity.
  • The AR700 measurements are not perfectly linear. This could be a machining issue with the frame or that the EXLAR rod is slightly bent or the AR700 are not really linear. Anyway, we now determine zero contact position offset for the transducer and a small slope correction values.  This and changes in the AR700, have improved distance measurement stability and reproducibility.
  • During the same calibration, we measure the pick time and calculate a material velocity (very very close to the published value) and system delay value.
  • To avoid the near field transducer issues, the user can select which measurements to apply to either the AR700 or System delay from the same set of measurements.
  • The calibration data (including Text_ID) are saved to the configuration files.

 

OUTSTANDING ISSUES

• SRM code changes have not been tested and the issues with the off-line treatment not fixed. IMS-10 is still the official release as tagged in SVN.
• SHIL still does not show the list of whole round samples if the scanner is used.
• XMSL images are not correctly offset from the image edge and the virtual ruler.
• Energy-Ratio method not implemented for Velocity

X378/378S

See expedition technical report.

X378T

General Notes & Comments:

• NGR training with Greg Chubaryan from 18 Nov 2019 - 20 Nov 2019.

• 29 Nov 2019Some instrument manuals from the shelf above the Correlator station were scanned and uploaded to Confluence, the purpose is to have a digital copy of this information. This task will be finish during next expeditions.

• All the PCs in the core lab had been upgraded to Windows 10 and LabVIEW 17 (with the exception of the SEM PC). Several tests were performed to ensure all applications are working properly.

• Issues with scanning barcode labels that have letters on the expedition number was solved (see Developer's Technical Report).

• A list of the radioactive sources that are onboard was created and add to Confluence under the NGR documentation.
  

• WRMSL and STMSL, SHIL, NGR and MAD Quick Start Guides and User Manuals were reviewed.
  

• Pycnometer, Labsphere, Ocean Optics and Ceram standards physical info and certificates of calibration were relocate on cabinet PP-6.
  

• Multiple software issues were solved by the developers during the software upgrading. Further information and pending issues could be review under "Software Issues" on Confluence.

• TCON station was moved to a temporal new place, behind the WRMSL. This place will be tested during Exp 378 for checking if it is adequate and for finding related problems.

• A new software 'QAQC' (developed by Eric Moortgat) is implemented in order to check the structure of IMS final data files. QAQC could be find on the desktop of the Phys Props stations that works with IMS except SRM, NGR and SHIL stations.

IMS TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SOFTWARE CHANGES

• IMS graphic should show counts vs channel and histograms (one bin per channel) instead of a smoothed graph. Radioactive measurements are noisy and it is the recommended practice to smooth data.  If you are seeing artifices (parabolic arcs) in the data that indicates you are not measuring long enough.  Very useful as a QAQC tool.
• Data acquisition should display raw counts, not counts per second
• An option could be to present graphs of all 8 detectors, then a ninth graph with all detectors but by channel instead of by energy. Include an area on screen with the info of the energy calibrations (base lines and coefficients).
• Ensure that Y-axes are in counts, not counts/sec.
• Show data for all detectors during acquisition, not just the ones covered by short sections. It is a troubleshooting aid.

Above^: COUNTS have no meaning and make it impossible to make real time comparisons between measurements already completed and those currently active.  All analysis uses COUNT RATE.

• (DJH): Save the raw spectra from all 8 detectors, at both positions, even if the sample is short. This is how the data were stored in the pre-IMS days, and it would be helpful to go back to that practice. While this is useful in development it should not be done in operations.  It creates a downstream problem when comparing the data sets down hole requiring a script of manually removing data not associated with a physical core.  This also inconsistent with data from other tracks. 

POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS

• For start a measurement, first we need to click on the “Get Sample Information” Page to activate the Measurement button and them we can click on MEASURE and it will start the measurement. It is possible to skip the step of activate the button and allowed to begin the measurement directly?  You only click the START button once and then after that the Sample Information window appears without that function until you cancel.  If this was implemented there would be no practical way to access other utilities and functions of the track.
• The Main Page on the NGR is different from the WR- tracks Main Page, it has fewer options to select. I think it is better.  All options shown has a reason.
• On the Main Page. What is the difference between the Label Length and the LIMS Length? LIMS Length is populated when the label is scan but Label Length no. Do we need the Label Length option?  If you do not have access to LIMS then the program will default the length on the label; otherwise only the LIMS length is used.
• Add to “Current DAQ settings” on the Main Page if the NGR is measuring using the One Position option or the Two Positions Option. Done
• NGR does not display a warning when the core is shorter than the recommended length. Done
• Add the date of the last measurement on Profile Review and Calibration Review (In Calibration Review the date can be seen now on the detector file name). Done
• Add a big info box on the screen when Background Calibration is running, asking users not to abort the program. ?? It already does that
• Add a warning to remind users that they need to add the USER LENGTH to measure (the warning can appear only when they try to measure without add the length) You cannot start a measurement without this values ..that is the warning.
• Show on the screen a warning when the Emergency Stop button is activated.  The program can only detected this if a move is implemented and a stall warning is issued; otherwise there is no means to detect this state.
• On LORE. Add also the option to filter by date. That option will be more useful for testing purposes, because the same cores are used.

QUESTIONS

• The option Core Status on the Main Page, what is it for? Do we need it?  It is meta data to show if you are measuring a whole round section or a half, and with or without liner.  <...it happens
• What is MISSING TOP on the Main Page? When we use it?  This added to the track position to correctly locate the measurement within the core.
• When the NGR is measuring a section, on the top of the window appears DAQ: BUSY?, why it has a question mark? This means IMS is asking if the instrument is still busy with acquisition.  These are state flags.

X-RAY IMAGER

• X-Ray Source CP120B sn: 17 1738/05 send to repair after X382 was received onboard. It lives under the X-Ray Imaging track.
  

• There are three X-Ray sources type CP120B

  • sn: 17 1738/06 installed on the X-Ray Imager.
    

  • sn: 19 0060/04 on Batcave

  • sn: 17 1738/05 on PP Lab, under the X-Ray Imaging track.

X385

See expedition technical report.

X379T/385T

General Notes & Comments & Honey-do's:

• BAT track was removed. The NSK actuator and linear encoder are stored under the NGR; the line lights and cables are stored in the SHIL drawer and the laser wires and components are sent back to shore.

• Routine maintenance on the NSK actuators of WRMSL, XRAY, NGR, SHMSL and SHIL were performed: clean and lubricate travel screw, inspect belts and tension correctly, check set screws on gears.

• The SHIL, SHMSL, AVS and GANTRY stations were dismantled in order to replace the non-metric framing hardware. Wiring was organized in a more practical, efficient and easy way to access for doing maintenance of the station.

• SHIL-2 computer has also the LabVIEW programs to run the SHMSL because it was used during part of Exp 379T on the SHMSL due to problems with the original computer.

• Laser AR700 that was retired from the SHMSL during Exp 382 was installed again when it was found out that the power cable is not faulty.

• The QEPro High Performance Spectrometer of the SHMSL was changed for a new one (sn QEP00674).

• SHMSL and WRMSL are ready to operate or to perform more test using MS3 or MS2.

• Software changes on SHMSL: New way to measure the length, height and volume of the section half (Bill)

• Software changes on GANTRY: New way to select the P wave arrival time and a new formula to calculate the P wave velocity of water as a function of temperature (Bill)

• Software changes on WRMSL: As per Gary Acton, the equation by Marzac (20__) is used to estimate the P wave velocity on water as a function of temperature (Bill).

• There were perform measurements of the play core 999-J1008D on the WRMSL, X-Ray Imager, NGR, TCON, SHMSL and SHIL. Results can be find on IODP_Share/PhysProps/CORE_999_J1008D.
• Drawers on Physical Properties Lab were organized. Spare parts belonging to the X-Ray were bringing up and now they live on the XRF drawer.

X383

General Notes & Comments & Honey-do's:

• Temperature probes on the inventory sheet were removed as we no longer use this system (LS0707 Fisher 15-077-8).  The item was replaced with PP5021, digital thermometer with hard wired probes (15-077-8B)
• Refit the end cap of the GRA standard after a leaking seal was found.
• Both tracks were operated as STMSL at varying times during the expedition. The GRA and MS were set up on the forward whole round track (same track as X-ray). To switch between X-ray and whole round, users must switch between computers, which involves moving cables from one computer to the other, and removing/adding the grey block to the pusher arm. Cables marked with green are the cables that should be switched. The cables marked with red should be left in place as they are track specific. The grey block is only needed for section half X-ray imaging.

• 383 To Do list

  • Update stand alone X-ray reprocessing software to properly name raw files and correctly input information into the reprocessed file headers.  Deployed on forward core lab description computer and host computer only.

  • Get the single image reprocess saved image on host X-ray computer to output correctly.  Currently a black .tif image is output.  This was corrected in stand alone image processing utility, but not on the instrument host.

  • SHIL not outputting high resolution RGB data

    • Solution: Removed DECIMATE.vi from within the C:\IMS-10\Plug-ins\I_PI_aJAI-CV-L107CL\IMAGE RGB Graph.vi

  • Gantry- enter sample information first and see the offset before saving data

  • Add information about SHIL High Resolution images to manual (ie what does a file look like)

  • Get the new Bartington MS system working so we can collect data quicker on WRMSL/STMSL

  • Get PWC offsets to show in LIMS for Piece Measurements.  Currently LIMS displays 0 even when user enters a value.

  • PWC Standard report gives both discrete and section halves.  Shore has indicated that the Standard report should only be section halves.  Need to request programmer fix.

  ---

X382

General Notes & Comments & Honey-do's:

• Need to locate license numbers for OceanView software.  We received a new license (for 2 computers) with the latest spectrometer purchase (2018).
• Replace PDF for TK04 manual link above with current version (5.5)
• Ask Gary and David for the results of their portcall testing on NGR, PWL, Gantry. Summarize in tech report and link somewhere in this PP Lab Notebook.
• NGR-IMS software request:  display total counts (rather than cps) for all detectors in both positions as another summary tab. ANSWER: COUNTS have no meaning and make it impossible to make real time comparisons between measurements already completed and those currently active.  All analysis uses COUNT RATE.
• NGR-IMS software request: capability to spot check a single detector's energy calibration by moving source directly to center of detector X, then begin calibration process as usual. ANSWER: It is a bad ideal to calibrate a single detector.  With automated calibration time is no longer an issue.
• Do inventory of all NGR spares and send to shore.  If any need repair then send them home.

X379

See expedition technical report.

X368T

NGR testing/bugs list

X378P/368X

All instruments are turned off and unplugged

18 Nov 2018All Instruments have been thoroughly tested. 

14 Nov 2018All instruments switched back on. Gantry is having problems initializing NI Scope, hoping developers can resolve issue. All other instruments functioning normally.

10 Nov 2018All instruments have been shut down (NGR full shutdown) for dry dock in case of power outage and A/C flux. Current plan is to start instruments up again once we go wet again.

Work was done by Zenon and Bill on PW picks and arrivals - documentation hardcopy.

18 Oct 2018Testing on all instruments that have IMS is underway, Bill deployed a new version. Testing will be complete before he departs next weeks.

CT scanner structure being put in place over WRMSL awaiting instrument.

07 Oct 2018All instruments are up and functional.

2017

20 Dec 2017  (BDJ): Shipping parcel number 488583 for actuator; RMA from NSK is 59483; see this page and LO was informed on his HUP.