29/07/13

Connect Strain Gages to a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Device - National Instruments

Personalizza il tuo sito web ni.com. Effettua il Login o Crea un profilo utente.

Install Software

Connect Hardware

Learn LabVIEW Basics

Begin Your Application

Connect Strain Gages to a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Device

Included in the Section
Locating Your DAQ Device Pinout Configuring a Strain Measurement Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device Strain Gage Calibration Testing the Signal

Print

Before You Begin

Back to top

This document provides step-by-step instructions for wiring and configuring your NI data acquisition device for strain gage measurements. Before you begin using your NI data acquisition hardware, you must install your application development environment (ADE) and NI-DAQmx driver software. Refer to the Installing NI LabVIEW and NI-DAQmx document for more information. View in-depth description

Locating Your DAQ Device Pinout

Before connecting any signals, locate your device pinout.

Back to top

1. Open NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) and expand Devices and Interfaces. 2. Right-click on your device name, and select Device Pinouts.

Figure 16. Device Terminals Help

Configuring a Strain Measurement

Back to top

You can use NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) to quickly verify the accuracy of your measurement system setup. Using an NI-DAQmx Global Virtual Channel you can configure a strain measurement without any programming. A virtual channel is a concept of the NI-DAQmx driver

www.ni.com/gettingstarted/setuphardware/dataacquisition/i/straingages.htm#Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device

1/6

29/07/13

Connect Strain Gages to a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Device - National Instruments

measurement without any programming. A virtual channel is a concept of the NI-DAQmx driver architecture used to represent a collection of device property settings that can include a name, a physical channel, input terminal connections, the type of measurement or generation, and scaling information. Follow these steps to begin: 3. With NI Measurement & Automation Explorer open, select Data Neighborhood and click Create New. 4. Select NI-DAQmx Global Virtual Channel and click Next. 5. Select Acquire Signals Analog Input Strain

Figure 17. Creating an NI-DAQmx Virtual Channel

6. Select ai0 or whichever physical channel you intend to connect your strain gage. A physical channel is a terminal or pin at which you can measure or generate an analog or digital signal. A single physical channel can include more than one terminal or pin, as in the case of a differential input channel.

Figure 18. Device Physical Channels

7. Click Next and enter a name for the global virtual channel or leave the default.

www.ni.com/gettingstarted/setuphardware/dataacquisition/i/straingages.htm#Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device

2/6

29/07/13

7. Click Next and enter a name for the global virtual channel or leave the default. 8. Click Finish and you should see the following screen in MAX:

Connect Strain Gages to a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Device - National Instruments

Figure 19. Setting up a Strain Channel in MAX

9. On the Settings tab, type in the minimum and maximum strain values you expect to read from your strain gage (-1m to 1m by default). 10. Configure the Gage Factor, Gage Resistance, Initial Voltage, VEX Source, VEX Value (V), Lead Resistance, and Strain Configuration based on your sensor specifications and the information discussed above in the Strain Measurement Fundamentals section.

Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device

The next step is to physically connect the strain gage to your DAQ device.

Back to top

11. Click the Connection Diagram tab in MAX to continue.

Figure 20. Strain Connection Diagram

www.ni.com/gettingstarted/setuphardware/dataacquisition/i/straingages.htm#Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device

3/6

29/07/13

Connect Strain Gages to a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Device - National Instruments

The connection diagram above indicates which pins on your DAQ device should be wired according to the physical channel you selected. In this example, a full bridge type I configuration uses pins 2, 3, 6, and 7, corresponding to AI+, AI-, EX+, and EX- on an NI 9237 C Series module.

Strain Gage Calibration

Back to top

When you configure a strain measurement task, you can use the Strain Gage Calibration Wizard to calibrate your strain gage. Complete the following steps to calibrate the strain gage:

Figure 21. Strain Gage Calibration Wizard

12. Select the Device tab and click Calibrate to launch the Strain Gage Calibration Wizard. 13. Follow the steps on the Setup Hardware window. You can configure the following settings: i. Enable Offset Nulling Select Enable Offset Nulling to perform an offset nulling calibration procedure. ii. Enable Shunt Calibration Select Enable Shunt Calibration to perform a shunt calibration procedure. If you select this option, configure the following settings: Shunt Resistor ValueSpecify the exact resistor value of the shunt resistor. The default value is the resistance of the shunt resistor that is the factory shipping default for your hardware. For the greatest accuracy, use a 6-1/2 digit DMM to measure the res istance of your entire shunt calibration circuit with the shunt switch engaged and leads connected. This will increase the accuracy of your measurements by compensating for the shunt enable switch resistance and any lead resistance caused by long lead wires. However, since the shunt resistor value is very large, these do not greatly impact the measurement accuracy. Shunt Resistor LocationSpecify the location on the Wheatstone bridge to which the shunt resistor is connected. Refer to the figure on the Setup Hardware window for the relative positions of R1 , R2 , R3 and R4 . 14. Click Next.

www.ni.com/gettingstarted/setuphardware/dataacquisition/i/straingages.htm#Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device

4/6

29/07/13

Connect Strain Gages to a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Device - National Instruments

Figure 22. Measure and Calibration Window

15. Use the Measure and Calibrate window to measure and calibrate your strain gage. The software automatically takes the first measurement, and the table displays the results. The table shows the following information: i. Channel Information Channel NameThe name of the virtual channel on which strain calibration is performed. Physical ChanThe physical channel to which the strain gage is connected. ii. Offset AdjustmentThis section shows information about the offset error to help you determine if you should perform an offset null calibration. Perform an offset null calibration if you perform a shunt calibration. Meas Val (strain)The measured offset value with units of strain. Normally, this value should be close to zero. Err (%)Percentage offset error, determined by the equation: Err (%) = [(offset value * 100) / (Max Range Limit Min Range Limit)] where Max Range Limit and Min Range Limit are the maximum and minimum strain range values specified for the given virtual channel. Gain AdjustmentThis section shows values related to gain error and the shunt calibration procedure: Sim Val (strain)The simulated strain value based on the hardware setup and the shunt resistor value. Meas Val (strain)The measured strain value. Normally, this value should be close to the simulated strain value. Gain Adj ValThe gain adjust value. This value is the end result of the shunt calibration and is used to scale strain measurements on this channel. Normally, this value is close to 1, which implies that the measured value and simulated value are equal. Your strain channel stores the gain adjust value as the AI.Bridge.ShuntCal.GainAdjust attribute. Err (%)Percentage gain error, determined by the equation: Err (%) = (measured value simulated value) * 100 / (Max Min) where Max and Min are the maximum and minimum strain values specified for the given virtual channel. 16. Perform your measurement and calibration with the following buttons: i. Click Measure to make a preliminary measurement using the offset and shunt calibration data from a previously run strain gage procedure. ii. Click Reset Data to reset the offset and shunt calibration data and make a measurement using their default values. iii. Click Calibrate to perform the offset and/or shunt calibration. The table shows the resulting measurements. 17. Click Finish when you are done. The calibration data is saved as part of your virtual channel. On successful completion, the software automatically uses the calibration data when scaling voltage to strains on this virtual channel.

Testing the Signal

NI-DAQmx global virtual channels allow you to preview your measurements.

Back to top

18. With MAX still open, click back on the NI-DAQmx Global Channel tab and click on the Run button. You will see the strain value of your measurement displayed at the top of the screen.

www.ni.com/gettingstarted/setuphardware/dataacquisition/i/straingages.htm#Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device

5/6

29/07/13

Connect Strain Gages to a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Device - National Instruments

Figure 23. Previewing a Strain Measurement in MAX You can choose to view the signal in tabular form or as a graph by selecting Graph from the Display Type dropdown. You also have the option of saving your NI-DAQmx Global Virtual Channel should you wish to refer to this configuration screen again in the future.

Previous Step
Connect and Setup Hardware

Next Step
Introduction to LabVIEW

My Profile | RSS | Privacy | Legal | Contact NI 2012 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. | E-Mail this Page

www.ni.com/gettingstarted/setuphardware/dataacquisition/i/straingages.htm#Wiring a Strain Gage to Your Device

6/6