ArArCALC  |  Help Contents  |  Full Text    

ArArCALC Help Library
First  |  Previous  |  Next  |  Last    

2.1.5  Irradiations and Projects

ArArCALC saves all age calculation data files in separate directories according to project name (see also: File Organization). This guarantees an automated and well-structured file organization. However, these project names are logged together with all irradiation parameters in the ArArCALC.log file (see also: Using the ArArCALC.log File). This log file can be accessed and updated through a set of easy-to-use dialogboxes. To activate the Changing Irradiations and Projects dialogbox, select the Options # Irradiation and Projects menu item.

The Changing Irradiations and Projects dialogbox lets you choose what via the option buttons Irradiations and Projects in the lower left Change panel. After making a selection, you can use the Add, Edit and Delete buttons to update either the list of project names or irradiations. To add a new list item, you first need to fill in the name of a new irradiation or project in the textbox in the upper right corner, followed by clicking the Add button. To edit or delete an existing irradiation or project, you first click on its name in the list box, followed by clicking either the Edit or Delete button.

If you want to save your edits, please hit the Save button first, because the Close button will close the Changing Irradiations and Projects dialogbox without saving. If you want to ignore or undo any of your changes, hit the Close button without hitting the Save button first.

When adding or editing irradiation definitions, ArArCALC will show you the Change Irradiation dialogbox to allow you to define the irradiation parameters, including up to 999 irradiation segments or cycli (see further below).

Note   When you Add a new project to your project name list, the file structure underneath the ArArCALC/Projects directory will be updated by adding your newly-defined project folder. A similar updating of your file structure will not happen when you Delete any of your existing projects, in order to circumvent accidental loss of your age calculation files. Finally, projects can only be changed when making changes in the Master ArArCALC.log file, otherwise the Projects option is greyed out (see example above, left).

information
In this tab you can find summary info and notes for a particular irradiation. In here only the Notes can be edited and it is highly recommended that you provide a short description of the irradiation in this field. This description may include which reactor was used, whether the samples were shielded or not, the purpose of the irradiation, the related project(s) and what time zone was used in the definition of the Irradiation Cycli or Segments (see below). The Date and Total Duration of the irradiation are automatically calculated from the Irradiation Cycli data, where the Date represents the first segment listed in the irradiation list and the Total Duration the summed durations as listed in the first column.

Interference Correction
In this tab you should define the Interference Correction factors and their uncertainties. These constants differ per reactor and whether the samples were shielded or not.

Note   The uncertainties need to be given here as Percent Standard Deviations on the 1σ Level.

Irradiation segments
In the final tab you can define the Duration, Date, End Time and MW (reactor power) of all Irradiation Cycli or Segments. It is highly recommended that you use either GMT or your Local Time Zone, as long as you consistently apply it throughout ArArCALC. For example, you should make certain that you apply the same Time Zone when you define your irradiations and when you supply dates and times in the Sample Parameters (see also: Sample Parameters). Use the spin button to increase or decrease the Number of Irradiation Segments. Click on a line in the list box to adjust your settings, which will appear for editing in the text boxes at the bottom of this dialogbox. To speed up data entry you can also check the Auto Fill option.

Note   If no data have been filled out for the Irradiation Segments yet, the required formats of the data are given as hints (hh = hours; mm = minutes; dd = day; mmm = month; yyyy = year; xxx = number) in the edit boxes at the bottom of the dialogbox and in the segment listing. You can enter up to 999 segments per irradiation. Duration and End Times are given in the hhh:mm or hh:mm format, where each segment can have a maximum duration of 999:59 hours and the latest possible end time is 23:59. You should fill out the Irradiation Segments from early to late, meaning that the first irradiation cycle is always on top of the list.