Wind Tunnel Balance Acquisition Calibration System

Calibration of wind tunnel balances is time consuming and strenuous. There are many people that do have a need to develop their own calibration software that shorten the time and manpower needed for a calibration of balance.Based on the theory of virtual instrument, this paper presents a software for balance calibration that includes the following features:1. This program is developed for single-component calibration and multi-component calibration with computing of calibration coefficients, data acquisition and basic data analysis.2. In any case the graphical user interface (GUI) is consistent on every level, i.e. wherever possible the same tapes of controls (buttons, tables etc.) have been used for similar tasks to make orientation easier.3. The program supports the user by offering default values for inputs and by disabling controls that are unreasonable in that circumstance while maintaining configuration freedom at a certain degree.4. Parameters entered for a calibration can be saved and automatically reloaded upon the next program start.5. For easier programming especially of the graphical user interface (GUI) and the data acquisition task we used a package by National Instrument called LabWindows/CVI.