Automatic Strain Gauge Balance Design Optimization Approach and Implementation Based on Integration of Software

• Main Authors: Xiang Guangwei, Mi Peng, Yi Guoqing, Wang Chao, Liu Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2020-02-01
• Series: Measurement Science Review
• Subjects: strain gauge balance; automatic design; structural optimization; software integration; optimization strategy
• Online Access: http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/msr.2020.20.issue-1/msr-2020-0004/msr-2020-0004.xml?format=INT

The traditional wind tunnel strain balance design cycle is a manual iterative process. With the experience and intuition of the designer, one solution that meets the design requirements can be selected among a small number of design solutions. This paper introduces a novel software integration-based automatic balance design optimization system (ABDOS) and its implementation by integrating professional design knowledge and experience, stepwise optimization strategy, CAD-CAE software, self-developed scripts and tools. The proposed two-step optimization strategy includes the analytical design process (ADP) and the finite element method design process (FEDP). The built-in optimization algorithm drives the design variables change and searches for the optimal structure combination meeting the design objectives. The client-server based network architecture enables local lightweight design input, task management, and result output. The high-performance server combines all design resources to perform all the solution calculations. The development of more than 10 balances that have been completed and a case study show that this method and platform significantly reduce the time for design evaluation and design-analysis-redesign cycles, assisting designers to comprehensively evaluate and improve the performance of the balance.