Wind Tunnel Active Vibration Reduction System (WTAVRS)

During wind tunnel testing of scaled aerodynamic models, the most critical measuring device is the internal strain gage balance. Modern internal balances are intricate and precise devices, which resolve the force moment data into Cartesian components accurately. While the accuracy of the balance system is extremely high, its design is inherently elastic and prone to vibrations. The model-balance-sting and arc sector constitute a typical wind tunnel support system. These are complex elastic systems prone to vibrations excited by the local turbulence. The model-balance-sting-support system has many complex modes of vibration with different modal frequencies and radii. They represent centrifugal inertial motion of the model and balance, which add to the static aerodynamic load of interest to the experimenter. Hence modal vibrations corrupt the quality of force-moment data in many ways. ViGYAN is proposing to develop a Wind Tunnel Active Vibration Reduction System (WTAVRS) that will be an actively controlled assembly of piezoelectric actuation devices that will work together to cancel the dynamic motions sensed at the end of the sting in order to reduce the vibrations affecting the strain gage balance measurements. The proposed device will be installed and tested in the ViGYAN wind tunnel facility.