PRACTICAL EXERCISES IN MEASUREMENTS

Aim of the Course:

Purpose of the course to gain practical skills in measurements through execution of a set of laboratory measurements which are frequently in application. For each of the exercise the following complete procedure will be conducted: explanation of the measurement, preparation of measuring equipment, performing the measurement, data acquisition, data processing and data reduction, estimates of statistical characteristics, uncertainty analysis and measured data presentation. All calculation will be done by software prepared in Matlab. All necessary equipment - a portable laboratory (stand structure, pendulums, transducers, signal conditioners, amplifiers power supplier, computer, data acquisition system, etc.) is provided by the lecturer.

Who should attend?

The course is designed for the students on universities of technology and military academies, for the engineers - researchers in the research institutions and engineers in the productions factories. It is advanced course. The subject is very specific and multidisciplinary, so for the successful performing the course the students should have good basic knowledge in mathematics, physics, probability theory, statistics, system theory, computer skill and weapon systems. (For basic knowledge see the course Measurements in Armaments).

Duration:

Duration is two weeks (twelve working days); 48 lectures (one lecture duration 45min), but other ar-rangement is possible.

Course Outline

1. PC Based DAQ
Types of DAQs. PC USB DAQs – characteristics, connections, checking. Simple measure-ment of constant voltage by program QuickDataAcq Data acquisition by Matlab. Characteristics of the power supply unit, multi channel measurement. Data analyzing and presenting.
2. Force Measurement by Strain-gage-instrumented Beam
Review of strain gage theory, Whetstone bridge and forces and moments measurement by strain gages. Calculation of the characteristics of the cantilever beam used in experiment. Measurement equipment. Characteristics of the strain gage amplifier. Assembling and connecting. System calibration – forming calibration chart and data presenting. Measurement of the weight of unknown object. Estimation of Measurement Errors and Uncertainties. Presentation of results of measurements.
3. Modal Analysis of Cantilever Beam
Calculation of the modes of oscillation of cantilever beam. Method of measurement of the oscillation of beam by measuring strain by strain gages. Assembling and connecting and checking the equipment. Measuring of the oscillation. Determination of periods of oscillation and modes of oscillation in time domain and frequency domain. Results analysis and presentation.
4. Potentiometer Calibration
Characteristics of precision potentiometer. Assembling the potentiometer on rotary plate fixture, connecting the potentiometer and checking the equipment. Measurement of the voltage from potentiometer for several precisely defined angular position of the rotary plate. Data reduction and forming the calibration chart. Presentation and discussion of the results.
5. Physical Pendulum Dynamics - Rotational Motion Measurement
Forming and solving the differential equations of physical pendulum. Presentation and dis-cussion of the results. Measurement of the angular motion of the pendulum by potentiometer. Data reduction and presentation. Determination of period of oscillation of pendulum.
6. Vibration Measurement
Oscillation and vibration measurement an review. Measurement equipment. Characteristics of the Charge amplifier (signal conditioner). Assembling and connecting of the mea-surement chain. End-to-end System calibration. Measurement of the vibration on an exci-ter. Vibration data reduction and analysis in time and frequency domain. Calculation of velocities and displacements. Fast Fourier transformation and application. Presentation of results of measurements.
7. Linear Acceleration Measurement and Accelerometer Calibration
Characteristics of force balanced and MEMS accelerometer to be used. Assembling the accelerometers on rotary plate fixture, connecting the accelerometers and checking the equipment. Measurement of the voltage from accelerometers for several precisely defined angular position of the rotary plate. Data reduction and forming the calibration chart. Presentation and discussion of the results. Measurement of the linear acceleration on the pendulum. Measurement of inclination by accelerometer.
8. Angular Acceleration Measurement and Accelerometer Calibration
Characteristics of force balanced angular accelerometer to be used. Assembling the accelerometers on rotary plate fixture, connecting the accelerometer and checking the equipment. Measurement of angular acceleration on pendulum. Data reduction and forming the calibration chart. Presentation and discussion of the results.
9. Measurand States Estimation by Extended Kalman Filter
Pendulum model equation. Discrete extended Kalman filter equations. Forming the whole set of equations and solving in Matlab. Estimation of the states. Data analyzing and discussion.
10. Moment Inertia Measurement by Bifilar Pendulum
Methods of moment of inertia measurement. Theory of bifilar pendulum. Method of measurement of period of oscillation by photoelectric sensor. Assembling the equipment and connecting the sensor. Measurement and data reduction.
11. Moment Inertia Measurement by Torsion Pendulum
Theory of torsion pendulum. Assembling the equipment and connecting the sensor. Measurement and data reduction. Comparison of the results obtained from bifilar pendulum.
12. Temperature Measurement
K-type thermocouple specifications. Instrumentation. Assembling and Connecting. Function and characteristics verification. Measuring of the increase of the temperature after immersing the probe into boiling water. Determination of response time and the time con-stant of the thermocouple probe. Presentation of the results. Comparison of the two different probes.

Lecturer: Dr Miodrag Curcin