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Overview of the Tunnel

Wind Tunnel Layout​

Shown below is the control and instrumentation for the Gaster tunnel. Visible is the three-axis hot-wire traverse, the data acquisition hardware, and the additional instrumentation and measurement hardware such as filters and oscilloscopes.

Tunnel Layout

The traverse controller houses the necessary hardware to drive the traverse, with control being carried out through an NI UMI 7774 motor controller, connected to the PC through an NI PXI-7350 card housed in an NI PXI 1033 chassis.

The NI PXI 1033 chassis also houses the card required for data acquisition. The hardware and connection layout can be seen in the figure below. Control of the wind tunnel fan is communicated through a serial USB interface to the wind tunnel controller.

Hardware and Connection Layout

Connections​

For the control system to operate all functions correctly, it is important to ensure that any and all hardware is connected through the correct channels. A top-level connection diagram can be seen below.

Within the data acquisition subgroup, each card also requires that components be connected to the correct channels. These connections are described below.

BNC-2120​

ChannelSensorDescription
AI0HW 1 RawSignal from HW 1
AI1HW 2 RawSignal from HW 2
AI3HW 2 FilteredFiltered Fluctuation from HW 2
AI6HW 1 FilteredFiltered Fluctuation from HW 1
AI2Surface MicrophoneMicrophone 1
AI4Plenum MicrophoneMicrophone 2
AI5Exciter Signal
AI7Laser Displacement Signal

BNC-2111​

ChannelSensorDescription
AI0RTD TopTemperature
AI2RTD BottomTemperature
AI1ThermistorTemperature
AI3Barometric PressurePressure
AI4Dynamic PressurePressure
AI5Flow Meter
AI6Scani Valve
AI7Scani Pulse
AI8Scani Pressure Transducer

BNC-2115​

ChannelSensorDescription
AO31Exciter Signal