With the necessary circuit created and connected to the data acquisition hardware, it was then possible to configure the data acquisition software to process and display the output from the strain gauge bar.
The data acquisition software used was Labview, version 8.2. The programme was set up to receive the voltage outputs from the strain gauges, and then calculate the mean of each output (which were named ‘mean 1’ and ‘mean 2’.
Through this setup, it was then possible to obtain an on-screen display of the mean voltage output against time. It was then checked that through loading the strain gauge bar the voltage output displayed on the plot was effected; and this was indeed the case.
Before the calibration of the bar could begin, the wing mirror and T-Plate were detached so that it could be loaded in isolation without the effects of any other components attached. The bar was then firmly clamped at its base onto a steel shelf, therefore ensuring no movement at the base was possible.
It was decided to load the bar by applying hanging weights at the closest hole to the strain gauges (Figure 8).
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