Abstract: The automation retrofit of purification part in the conventional ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating laboratory of Peking University was based on mastering the components and operation processe of the purification part. By clearing the requirements of the system, the authors proposed an automatic control method, using PLC (programmable automation controller) as the core of the control system in order to monitor and control the purification system. The automatic reform include the hardware control part and the software part. First, the manual valves was changed to the automatic valves. The transformation of the hardware is based on the purification system’s demands of automatic valves to allocate the I/O ports (input/output) and design the related electrical schematics. In the software part, by use of anxiliary register, program is designed to realize the interlocking of pneumatic valves and make pneumatic valves in the purification system work automatically. The newly promoted purification system made the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating experiment run automatically, which saved manpower, improved the utilization efficiency of the experimental apparatus, reduced the artificial errors caused by person participation, and laid foundation for further automatic improvement of the laboratory.

Key words: ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotope dating, purification system, PLC, automation reform

摘要： 对北京大学常规⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar同位素定年实验室纯化系统进行了自动化改造。在明确系统控制要求的基 础上, 设计了一种以PLC(可编程逻辑控制器)为控制核心对纯化系统进行控制的方法。自动化改造包括硬件和软件两部分: 硬件部分的改造是, 首先将手动阀门更换为适合系统要求的自动阀门, 然后根据纯化系统对自动阀的控制要求对PLC的I/O口进行分配, 并设计相关的外围电路; 软件部分的改造是, 利用辅助寄存器的相关位实现自动阀的互锁和对自动阀实现时序控制。纯化系统的自动化可以节省人力, 提高实验仪器的利用效率, 并降低人为因素对实验结果的影响, 同时为实验室的进一步自动化改造奠定了基础。

关键词: ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar同位素定年, 纯化系统, PLC, 自动化改造