Abstract
D. Phil.
Conventional internal wind tunnel balances are designed and constructed to
accommodate foil strain gauges which measure the deformation (strain) of the
material. Foil strain gauge balances are known to be affected by electromagnetic
interference and temperature. These balances are expensive and their manufacture is
time consuming. With an increasing demand for higher accuracy, stiffness, increased
resolution and temperature compensation, current balance designs are becoming
inadequate.
To overcome identified balance deficiencies a research programme in the application
of optical Bragg gratings to wind tunnel balances was initiated. In this programme a
new concept of using optical fibre Bragg grating sensors, with the advantage of using
mechanical amplification to increase sensitivity, and the implementation of
temperature compensation techniques was demonstrated on a simulated two component
balance.