M.Phil. / In today's world with its competitive environment there is a need to shorten product development time by using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) to design an object for example a car, aeroplane or missile and to predict the forces that the wind will have on the object (design). To evaluate the correctness of the CFD results, the design or a scale model of the design must be tested in a wind tunnel by using a force balance. The wind tunnel balance is an apparatus used in the designing and testing of wings, shapes and profiles. In general a balance can be used in all aerodynamic designs to determine the forces on an object when it is moving through air. The aim of this project was to design and manufacture a three-component external balance for a low-speed wind tunnel using an axiomatic design method. It also covers the installation of the external wind tunnel balance to a wind tunnel with a computerized data acquisition capturing system, and performance evaluation of the wind tunnel balance.

M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering) / The most common data sought during a wind tunnel test program are the forces and moments acting on an airframe, (or any other test article). The most common source of this data is the internal strain gauge balance. Balances are six degree of freedom force transducers that are required to be of small size and of high strength and stiffness. They are required to deliver the highest possible levels of accuracy and reliability. There is a focus in both the USA and in Europe to improve the performance of balances through collaborative research. This effort is aimed at materials, design, sensors, electronics calibration systems and calibration analysis methods. Recent developments in the use of statistical methods, including modern design of experiments, have resulted in improved balance calibration models. Research focus on the calibration of six component balances has moved to the determination of the uncertainty of measurements obtained in the wind tunnel. The application of conventional statistically-based approaches to the determination of the uncertainty of a balance measurement is proving problematical, and to some extent an impasse has been reached. The impasse is caused by the rapid expansion of the problem size when standard uncertainty determination approaches are used in a six-degree of freedom system that includes multiple least squares regression and iterative matrix solutions. This thesis describes how the uncertainty of loads reported by a six component balance can be obtained by applying a direct simulation of the end-to-end data flow of a balance, from calibration through to installation, using a Monte Carlo Simulation. It is postulated that knowledge of the error propagated into the test environment through the balance will influence the choice of calibration model, and that an improved model, compared to that determined by statistical methods without this knowledge, will be obtained. Statistical approaches to the determination of a balance calibration model are driven by obtaining the best curve-fit statistics possible. This is done by adding as many coefficients to the modelling polynomial as can be statistically defended. This thesis shows that the propagated error will significantly influence the choice of polynomial coefficients. In order to do this a Performance Weighted Efficiency (PWE) parameter is defined. The PWE is a combination of the curve-fit statistic, (the back calculated error for the chosen polynomial), a value representing the overall prediction interval for the model(CI_rand), and a value representing the overall total propagated uncertainty of loads reported by the installed balance...

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.

Orientador: Lucila Chebel Labaki / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T13:55:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrade_NixonCesarde_D.pdf: 32217441 bytes, checksum: 25e8b1672ea93f3aae90a2513264ae3e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: A ventilação natural é uma das estratégias mais adequadas para o resfriamento passivo dos edifícios e para a manutenção da qualidade do ar. Uma das alternativas existentes para se alcançar tal proposição é a utilização de torres de vento situadas acima do nível da cobertura, as quais podem funcionar como captadores ou extratores de ar. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo geral avaliar quatro tipos de torres, atuando como captadores: a unidirecional, com uma abertura para a entrada de vento, em locais onde o vento se movimenta predominantemente em uma direção; a tetradirecional, com quatro aberturas; a octodirecional, com oito aberturas e a dodecadirecional, com doze aberturas; em locais em que o vento age em várias direções. Para alcançar o objetivo utilizaram-se ensaios em túnel de vento e simulações no software CFX®, os quais permitiram estudar as características técnicas das torres analisadas e seus efeitos sobre a ventilação interna do ambiente, bem como contribuir para a difusão desse sistema de ventilação no Brasil. O desenvolvimento do trabalho foi dividido nas seguintes etapas: definição das geometrias das torres; definição, construção e instrumentação das maquetes; definição dos ângulos de incidência do vento; ensaios no túnel de vento e simulações no software CFX®: velocidade e pressão. Os resultados obtidos a partir de uma série de experimentos e simulações computacionais permitiram a análise e comparação dos diversos projetos propostos, auxiliando, portanto, na determinação das configurações mais adequadas, além da verificação da compatibilidade entre os dois tipos de estudo, concluindo que as torres octodirecional e dodecadirecional são as mais eficientes, pois proporcionam maiores valores de velocidade do ar interno na maioria das posições consideradas. Desta forma, utilizando o túnel de vento e o CFX®, as análises possibilitaram desenvolver melhorias para os ambientes avaliados, no que se refere ao desempenho da ventilação. Isso proporcionará melhores taxas de conforto aos usuários da edificação, considerando todas as aberturas para permitir o fluxo do vento em qualquer situação. Ademais, podem-se verificar as distribuições das aberturas de entrada e saída mais adequadas para captação e distribuição do vento no interior dos ambientes, proporcionando melhores condições de conforto térmico / Abstract: Natural ventilation is one of the most appropriate strategies for passive cooling of buildings and the maintenance of air quality. One of the alternatives for achieving such proposal is the use of wind towers above the level of the roof, which can function as air catchers or extractors. This research aims to evaluate four types of towers, acting as air catchers: unidirectional, with an opening for the entrance of the wind, in locations where the wind moves predominantly in one direction, the tetradirectional, with four openings, the octodirectional, with eight openings and dodecadirectional, with twelve openings, in locations where the wind moves in various directions. To achieve the goal, tests in wind tunnel and simulations in CFX® software were performed, which allowed the study of the technical characteristics of the analyzed towers and their effects on the indoors ventilation, as well as the contribution to the spread of this ventilation system in Brazil. The methodology was divided into the following steps: the definition of the geometry of the towers; definition, construction and instrumentation of the models; definition of the angles of the incidence of the wind; wind tunnel tests and simulations in CFX® software: speed and pressure. The obtained results from a series of experimental and computational simulations allowed the analysis and comparison of the various proposed design configurations, helping, therefore, in determining the most appropriate settings, besides the verification of compatibility between the two types of study, concluding that the octodirectional and dodecadirectional towers are the most efficient ones , as they provide higher rate of indoor air speed in most considered positions. Thus, using the wind tunnel and CFX®, the analysis allowed the development of enhancements to the analyzed environments, concerning the performance of the ventilation. This will provide better comfort rates to the users of the building, considering all openings to allow the wind flow in any situation. Furthermore, the most suitable distribution of inlet and outlet openings for the catchment and distribution of the wind within the environments may be verified, providing better conditions of thermal comfort / Doutorado / Arquitetura e Construção / Doutor em Engenharia Civil