Journal of Aviation/Aerospace

Education & Research

Volume 29 Article 5
Number 1 JAAER 2020

2020

Design, Construction and Testing of a 3-Component Force

Balance for Educational Wind Tunnels in Undergraduate
Aerodynamics
Milan Tomin
Queens University of Charlotte, [email protected]

Marco Scipioni
Queens University of Charlotte, [email protected]

Benjamin Gatti
Queens University of Charlotte, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.erau.edu/jaaer

Part of the Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Commons

Scholarly Commons Citation

Tomin, M., Scipioni, M., & Gatti, B. (2020). Design, Construction and Testing of a 3-Component Force
Balance for Educational Wind Tunnels in Undergraduate Aerodynamics. Journal of Aviation/Aerospace
Education & Research, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.15394/jaaer.2020.1809

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholarly Commons. It has been
accepted for inclusion in Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research by an authorized administrator of
Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected].
 Tomin et al.: 3-Component Force Balance

Introduction

Since the Wright Brothers’ first flight in 1903, the knowledge of how airplanes fly has

increased significantly. Most scientific progress in the airplane industry has been in safety, fuel

efficiency, and in achieving higher economic performance. Ribeiro et al. (2007) said that “most

modern civil jet aircrafts are about 70% more fuel-efficient per passenger-km than 40 years ago.”

Furthermore, an additional 40-50% progress in fuel efficiency is expected by 2050 (Ribero et al.,

2007). Much of the improvements come from wing aerodynamics as well as engine efficiency.

Much of the improvements come from wing aerodynamics as well as engine efficiency.

However, while enhancing wing efficiency, aerospace engineers started introducing higher

design complexity, and, after the 1990s, their focus shifted to simpler, yet still efficient designs.

For example, airplanes with three-slotted wings were later replaced by airplanes with simple

single-slotted wings (Anderson & Eberhardt, 2010). To investigate and study aerodynamics of a

specific airplane design, its aerodynamic components and devices are generally tested on scale

models placed inside a wind tunnel to experimentally predict and extrapolate the aerodynamic

performance of the life size-models. Building a custom wind tunnel and equipping it with a

force balance to capture aerodynamic data is a great learning experience for students seeking a

deeper understanding of the core principles of lift, drag, aerodynamic movement, and airfoil

design.

Smaller universities and colleges not offering aerospace engineering do not have the

appropriate facilities and equipment for studying aerodynamics. To overcome this limitation,

this article presents the novel design, construction, and testing of a 3-component force balance

specifically intended for educational aerodynamics. The work presented in this article is meant

to facilitate the experience of building a force balance through a step-by-step guide for students

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interested in wind tunnel experimentation. Reynolds indicated that performing wind tunnel

testing in the lab had a lasting and significant impact on his aviation, non-engineering

undergraduate students (Reynolds, 2005). The force balance, which is a fundamental part of any

wind tunnel testing, allows students to conduct force and moment measurements and learn from

their graphical visualization. Rigby’s study included simulations in the instructional plan which

can lead to improvement in students’ performance in aerodynamics and applied aerodynamics

(Rigby, 2015). Hands-on learning through wind tunnel experiments can improve the students’

theoretical knowledge and provide them with an opportunity to analyze the aerodynamic forces

measured by the force balance. In regards to the force balance presented in this article, the main

requirements were to be a) to be inexpensive, b) being easy to build with simple tools, and c)

being easy to replicate, which will allow students from universities without an aerodynamic

research lab to build a force balance from scratch. Project-based learning is engaging, and it

empowers students to develop technical intuition, gain a deeper understanding of aerodynamic

forces, and become passionate about aerodynamics in general.

A sophisticated force balance is capable of measuring drag forces with 0.001% accuracy

and lift forces with 0.1% accuracy (Advisory Group for Aerospace Research & Development

[AGARD], 1992). The force balance described in this work has an accuracy limited to 10% for

both the drag and the lift forces but, at the same time, is easily buildable using basic materials

and electronics. The main force balance components were three load cells, a servo motor, and

the acrylic frame. Once built, the force balance is capable of measuring lift, drag, pitching

moment about the leading edge, as well as their coefficients, and the position of the center of

pressure. To test the force balance and validate its measurements, the authors built a low-

Reynolds number wind tunnel from the ground up (a test section of 144 in2 squared cross-

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 Tomin et al.: 3-Component Force Balance

sectional area, contraction ratio of 9, a nozzle with a constant 12° expansion angle, a diffuser

with constant 4° expansion angle and 256 in2 square cross-sectional area). A data collection

example is also included and explained in the article.

Materials and Methods

Components

The main components of this external force balance are shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Components Used to Build the Force Balance

Part Name Make Model Amazon SKU

Servo motor Hitec RDC Inc. 33485S Deluxe HS-485HB B002HPUKS8
load cells (5kg) Phoncoo 5KG Digital Load Cell Weight Sensor B07JWC85SN
load cell (1kg) Phoncoo Digital Load Cell Weight Sensor 1KG B07JGJWY8L
HX711 amplifiers FOR-Arduino HX711 Weighing Sensor Module - Green B07DWBDW2K
Arduino Nano Arduino A000005 B0097AU5OU

Load cells. The thesis presented by Pravin Vadassery indicates that, in the case of

internal and external force balances, strain gauges, piezoelectric films, and accelerometers are

commonly used techniques for measuring forces in a wind tunnel (Vadassery, 2012).

Additionally, in the same research, it is stated that Robinson, Schramm, and Hannemann (2007)

found that external force balance shows to be more accurate; therefore, the authors decided to

make an external force balance, which seemed easier to manufacture (Robinson et al., 2007).

Two 5-kg load cells were used to measure lift and pitching moment while a 1-kg load cell was

used to measure drag. The load cells were selected on the advice of Gary Eaker – designer and

founder of Aerodyn wind tunnel which is used by numerous NASCAR teams (G. Eaker, personal

communication, February 11, 2018). Based on lecture notes from Brown University, load cells

can be used for precise force measuring (Bower & Xu, 2019).

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A load cell is a transducer converting a mechanical force into an electrical signal by

means of four metallic strain gauges interconnected to form a Wheatstone bridge. When a force

is applied to one load cell, the strain gauges’ electrical resistance changes in proportion to the

experienced strain. Subsequently, the Wheatstone bridge outputs a signal that is proportional to

the externally applied force.

Figure 1. Load cell and its four strain gauges forming a Wheatstone bridge to measure applied
loads.

Servo motor. The force balance includes a servo motor. The servo horn, which attaches

to the motor’s shaft, is connected to the tested wing profile through thin and stiff piano wires to

control and adjust the wing’s angle of attack (AoA). Since the servo horn rotation is not linearly

correlated with the wing’s AoA, a simple calibration procedure with a high-precision digital

level is required to correctly map the AoA with the servo horn rotation.

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Figure 2. Angle calibration using high precision digital level.

Custom circuit board. The aerodynamic forces exerted on the tested wing model are

transformed by the load cells into electrical signals which are sent to an Arduino Nano

microcontroller connected to a computer for data collection and analysis. A custom design

circuit board was fabricated to interconnect the three load cells and their HX711 amplifiers to the

Arduino Nano microcontroller. According to González et al. (2011), amplifiers are an

indispensable component of the force balance as they increase the analog signal output produced

by the load cells and convert it into a digital form (Gonzalez et al., 2011).

Apart from minor modifications, additions, and corrections by the authors, most of the

Arduino code was written by Itziar Bueno Tintoré and is available in her bachelor's thesis at

University of Zagreb (Bueno Tintoré, 2018). In her thesis, Bueno Tintoré uses Arduino Uno

instead of a custom circuit board with Arduino Nano, like the authors of this article did. Yet

other microcontroller options are surely viable. The corresponding author encourages readers

interested in the full code to contact him directly via email. The code controls the servo motor,

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allowing it to maintain a fixed position or sweep through different positions at a predetermined

speed. After successfully uploading the code on the Arduino microcontroller, the three load cells

must be calibrated using known weights to find the suitable calibration constant to produce

accurate force balance measurements. The determination of the calibration constant involves

placing known weights on each of the load cells and adjusting the calibration constant until the

measured weight output from the Arduino matches the applied weight. Each load cell has a

different calibration constant to account for. More detailed information on calibration is

provided in the code.

Figure 3. Flow chart showing the basic principle how the force balance functions.

Supplies

The force balance assembly was built using basic materials such as clear acrylic with

one-quarter of an inch thickness, aluminum, carbon fiber, foam, small springs, and piano strings.

The acrylic frame components, cut with a laser cutter, are sufficiently rigid to resist any bending

caused by the aerodynamic forces acting on the wing, thus allowing force transfer to the load

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 Tomin et al.: 3-Component Force Balance

cells with minimal losses. The acrylic parts connecting the wing and the servo motor to the force

balance assembly were created out of a one-sixteenth of an inch-inch thickness aluminum sheet.

Connectors for the wing support were additionally strengthened using thin carbon fiber strips.

The vertical carbon fiber strips supporting the wing are also sufficiently rigid to avoid bending

under the horizontal drag force to be able to transmit the physical forces acting on the wing

model to the respective load cells located in the assembly. The strips were positioned to create

the least amount of drag, hence causing a smaller error in the collected data. Post and Morris

(2010) warn that the force balance support structure can impact model’s aerodynamics (Post &

Morris, 2010). The wing model, made of foam, was cut using a hot wire, smoothened using

sandpaper, and finally covered with a thin balsa wood sheeting.

Table 2
Acrylic Parts Used for Constructing the Force Balance

Part No. Part Name

1 Bottom plate
2 Top plate
3 Top and bottom plate connector, rod and drag load cell holder
4 Top and bottom plate connector and rod holder
5 Middle section connector and drag load cell holder
6 Middle section and load cell spacers
7 Middle section connector and rod holder
8 Top plate (middle section)
9 Bottom plate (middle section)
10 Side connectors and load cell spacers
11 Bottom stand

Construction Steps

The force balance frame was created using acrylic components. All parts used for the

construction are listed in the Table 2 and shown in the Figure 4 are available at a local hardware

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store. The dimensions of the acrylic parts depend on size of the load cells and on the size of the

wind tunnel’s test section where the force balance is positioned.

1 2
2

3 8 4
9

5 11 7
10 6

Figure 4. Acrylic frame components necessary to build the force balance.

Step 1. The first step in the construction process consisted of interconnecting part 1, part

3, and part 4. The first load cell was attached to part 3 using part 6 as a spacer. This load cell

measures the horizontal drag force and must be oriented so that its 1-kg mark points in the same

direction as the flow of air.

Drag Load Cell

4 3

Figure 5. Part 5 attaches to the drag load cell which connects to part 3.

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 Tomin et al.: 3-Component Force Balance

Step 2. The middle section of the force balance was created by interconnecting the

hexagonal parts 8 and 9 using part 7 and two aluminum rods. The second load cell – the first for

measuring lift – was attached to part 8 with the 5-kg mark pointing upward. This load cell will

eventually attach to the servo motor used to control the wing’s angle of attack. This

configuration does not constrain the entire drag load cell, allowing one of its ends to be pulled to

measure the horizontal drag force acting on the test wing. The middle section (part 7, part 8, part

9), which connects to the test wing model, can slide and experience a pull force which is

transferred to part 5 fixed to the drag load cell.

1st Lift Load Cell

4 5
7 8

Figure 6. Middle section consists of parts 8 and 9 which serve as a housing for two lift load cells.

Step 3. The third construction step involves assembling the wing support structure

(Figure 7) which includes two thin vertical carbon fiber strips, the third load cell – the second

load cell intended to measure lift – and two aluminum connectors. The top connector serves to

connect the test wing to the force balance while the bottom connector attached the load cell to

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the carbon strips. The arrow mark of the third load cell should also point upward. The wing

support structure is then connected through the third load cell to part 8 using part 10 as a spacer.

2nd Lift Load Cell

Figure 7. Test wing support structure was installed on the 2nd lift load cell before the load cell
was positioned into place.

Step 4. This last construction step incorporates the servo motor and the custom circuit

board into the force balance. The servo motor, which controls the wing’s angle of attack, is fixed

to the second lift load cell using an aluminum connector while the servo motor horn connects to

the top part of the wing support structure via a piano string. The sum of the forces measured by

the first and second lift load cells provides the net lift experienced by the test wing. In addition,

the two vertical forces can be used to calculate the pitching moment.

The total lift force L acting on the wing is given by the vector sum of the two vertical

forces F1 and F2 acting on the wing and measured by load cell 1 and load cell 2 respectively:

𝑳 = 𝑭 𝟏 + 𝑭𝟐

The pitching moment MLE about the leading edge (LE) is calculated as the vector sum of

the moments M1 and M2 about the leading edge due to the forces F1 and F2:

𝑴𝑳𝑬 = 𝑴𝟏 + 𝑴𝟐 = 𝒙𝟏 × 𝑭𝟏 + 𝒙𝟐 × 𝑭𝟐

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 Tomin et al.: 3-Component Force Balance

where

𝒙1 = vectorial distance between LE and 𝑭1

𝒙2 = vectorial distance between LE and 𝑭2

Figure 8. Schematic diagram of the force balance system and force measurement technique.

The hexagonal part 11, which attaches to the bottom of the force balances, serves as a

platform to support the circuit board hosting the microcontroller.

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1st Lift Load Cell

2nd Lift Load Cell

8
2
Drag Load
Cell

Figure 9. The Force Balance before it was mounted onto the wind tunnel test section.

Discussion

After all the steps from the previous section are completed, the force balance can be

attached to a wind tunnel. Additionally, a wing model can be mounted on the force balance to

test its aerodynamic properties. Although testing is not the focus of this article, an example of

data collection and analysis is included to show how data can be visualized and to inspire further

research.

Before testing, however, it is important to consider possible sources of error that can

affect the experimental results, like the internal friction between the force balance components,

noise fluctuations in the electronics, and an inaccurate calibration of the load cells. For example,

the friction between internal components along the horizontal direction can cause inaccurate

measurements of the drag force. Ideally, the friction between aluminum rods and the acrylic

frame should be minimized as much as possible to remove any mechanical constraint on the

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wing model. Another important and possible source of error would be the onset of vibrations on

the wing model due to high turbulence generated around it at high angle of attack. Vibrations are

highly dependent on the wind speed and can also lead to inconsistent drag and lift measurement.

Force Balance Test Set-Up

The purpose of Part 2 in Figure 4 is to join the force balance apparatus to the bottom of

the wind tunnel test section. The portion of the force balance including the load cells and

electronics is hosted under the test section to minimize interference with the airflow and not

compromise the quality of the collected data.

Figure 10. Force Balance when installed below the test section of an educational wind tunnel.

Data Collection Example

After the force balance was fully assembled and calibrated, the authors performed a basic

aerodynamics test. The tested wing model was NACA 6412 foam wing having a 150 mm cord

length and covered with balsa wood. The airflow speed, measured with a Vernier spirometer,

was approximately 12 m/s and was produced using a 1HP 5000CFM fan. The wing’s angle of

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attack (AoA), calibrated per procedure presented in the Figure 2, varied every 2 seconds from

0.1° up to 21.6°. In the code, the swept angular range for the AoA corresponded to the servo

horn sweeping rotating from 0° to 30°, respectively. For each different AoA, a total of 19 points

were collected and later averaged into a single value. The force balance data was output through

the Arduino’s serial port monitor and later imported into Matlab for data analysis and

visualization.

Figure 91. Angle of attack (AoA) on x-axis was independent variable while the two dependent
variables were Lift coefficient (Cl) in red and Drag coefficient (Cd) in blue and Pitching moment
in green (Cm).

The graph shows that as the angle of attack (AoA) increases, the lift coefficient (Cl), the

drag coefficient (Cd) and the pitching moment (Cm) increase. It is interesting to note the

behavior of the lift coefficient at around 150 which suggests that wing is approaching stall

condition.

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Conclusion and Future Work

The work presented in this article provides a clear step-by-step procedure on how to

construct a force balance for educational purposes. The described force balance can be

manufactured with inexpensive components – a few load cells, a servo motor, and simple

electronics.

The authors’ future work will focus on a) using the force balance and wind tunnel to test

different airfoil profiles and on b) expanding the system capabilities to be able to measure the air

pressure distribution around the tested wing and visualize the flow streaklines through dye

injection. This experimental apparatus has the potential to be used for undergraduate level study

of other interesting phenomena like animal flight aerodynamics, turbulence, etc.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Noble Fellowship at Queens University of Charlotte

for the support as well as Enventys Partners LLC for providing tools and guidance throughout

this project.

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