Experimental Method
The apparatus assembly is managed by Process Controller, a software program written in LabVIEW to automatically control the whole experiment. There are six operational states regulated by Process Controller to run the experiment. Each of these states consists of a different set of inputs, rules and set points. The description of each state is provided in Table 1. This table provides a reference for operators to check if the rules and states are set correctly and what set points to search when they meet problems. At “automatic operation” mode, the experiment proceeds continuously from the first stage to the last state and then jumps back to the first state for the next cycle. The number of cycles is set by the operator at the set point “ Max reps”. According to the rules for the settling state, when the number of reps is bigger than the Max reps, then the experiment will stop. The collected data is recorded and processed on a spreadsheet in a MathCAD program called Data Processor.
Table 1. Process Controller Operational States 
Specific experiment setup is based on the values of set points devised by the operator. A sample experimental method can be found here or the Meta File (an Excel spreadsheet) recorded in this directory: N:\\files.cornell.edu\EN\aguaclara\RESEARCH\Tube Floc\Fall2012\Data Processor.