Date of Award

3-24-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

First Advisor

Mark F. Reeder, PhD.

Abstract

Continuing the development of the 6-DOF Motion Test Apparatus (MTA) for performing dynamic wind tunnel tests revealed the importance of a capable data acquisition (DAQ) system for collecting and analyzing data. Assembling and testing the DAQ system in conjunction with the MTA, AFIT Low-Speed Wind Tunnel, and a selection of high-performance sensors was the primary focus of this research. Specifically, acquiring time-accurate aerodynamic force and moment measurements on a variety of test models was of high importance. With the established real-time DAQ system hardware, a National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW program was created to acquire data from an ATI Nano25-E force transducer and a second LabVIEW program was modified to communicate with a MicroStrain® 3DM-GX4-15™ Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The complete DAQ hardware and software system was employed in both static and dynamic wind tunnel tests to collect the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on a NACA 0012 wing model. Dynamic testing involved pitch oscillation motions, which were tracked with the IMU, as well as pitch-plunge oscillation motions. Static tests yielded results that matched traditional sting mounted wind tunnel tests, despite minor angle-of-attack differences. Dynamic measurements of the lift, drag, and pitch moment coefficients were within expectations for the pitch oscillation tests and the highest ow velocity case of the pitch-plunge oscillation test.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENY-MS-16-M-237

DTIC Accession Number

AD1054575

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