Development of a Force and Airspeed Data Acquisition System for the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 30x40 in. Subsonic Wind Tunnel

The very first objective of performing most experiments is collecting numerical data. Values can be read from instruments or gauges by eye and recorded by hand. However, in certain experiments the amount of data collected may become so large that a human alone can not observe and record the data fast enough. This is where a data acquisition system comes into play. A data acquisition system is a network of devices that collects data from instruments and outputs it to hard copies or storage devices. A data acquisition system can also control instruments to take the data at the exact moment and rate at which the user wishes. The system described in this thesis is capable of reading values from various instruments and reducing those data to yield aerodynamic loads, coefficients, temperatures and air velocities. Prior to 2000, a program written in BASIC was used to control the data taking processes. This thesis will emphasize on the new data acquisition program written in the Lab VIEW environment in 2000