Novel approach for pressure sensor calibration in 1.2m wind tunnel

A new improved NI based pressure sensor calibration module is developed at CSIR-NAL 1.2m Wind Tunnel for calibrating and health monitoring of the pressure transducers. The Mach number and non-dimensional coefficients are computed using the pressure sensor data along with the balance data measured during the wind tunnel testing. The pressure transducers used for wind tunnel tests include static pressure transducers, total pressure transducers and base pressure transducers. These transducers are calibrated every six months to adhere to the ISO standards followed by NAL. The introduction of user friendly features and technology upgradation into the new system has enhanced the efficiency of calibration. This paper presents the approach for the new calibration scheme, software architecture, hardware features and typical results. The developed system has been tested and is currently used extensively at 1.2m wind tunnel.