Structural Testing and Strain Gauge Measurements

Experimental structural testing is necessary in a wide range of applications from airframes and sub-assemblies down to individual components such as turbine blades and many others. These tests enable the engineers to compare the acquired data with the predicted results from the design calculations.

Since structural tests typically need a lot of time and resources, it is crucial to have a precise, easy to use and reliable instrumentation and software system for these critical applications.

With m+p Coda, we offer a full-featured software platform for data acquisition and signal analysis. The complete off-the-shelf operation provides quicker time to test and results in reduced costs associated with the data acquisition process. m+p Coda is scalable for any test size - from tens to thousands of channels. The intuitive GUI facilitates set-up, operation, analysis and report generation, thus leading quickly to precise repeatable results.

Thanks to its modular structure and easy parameterization, m+p Coda is the perfect solution for experimental structural testing and multi-axis strain and stress analysis. Features include measurements with single- and multichannel strain gauges, real-time strain and stress calculations, limit checking and alarm monitoring as well as communication with the load control system. Configuration data are stored in a central SQL database for maximum flexibility and repeatability.

PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A. in Italy selected m+p Coda for structural testing of their pioneering airplanes. They measure up to 1,248 strain gauge channels, mainly quarter bridges and rosettes configurations. Based on the specific customer requirement a linear trend detection was added to m+p Coda. With this function, m+p Coda is able to track the linear trend of strain gauge signals with respect to the reference channel (primarily force).

Download the 4-page “Structural Testing with m+p Coda” Application Note.