Test stand update

On Friday I received the the load-cell so I was keen to get it hooked up since now I had all the components. It took most of Saturday to get everything designed and soldered up, and today I powered it up and ran some tests.

The current setup with the load cell amplifier, batteries and data logger housed in the box.

I was able to easily measure loads as low as 20 grams on the 70Kg load-cell. Initially I had some issues with noise being picked up by the wiring, and was able to reduce that about 10 fold with appropriate shielding and grounding things. Later, on the Australian rocketry forum one of the guys suggested how to even further improve the noise margin with cabling and locating the amplifier close to the load cell in a metal box. So the next step is to try that. Luckily I have all the necessary components, but will buy a new diecast aluminium box tomorrow and fit the amplifier in that.

The more accurate the setup is, the more accurately we can determine what effects design changes have on the rocket. With the above setup we can resolve ~0.2Newtons of thrust over the typical test range of about 30N to 150N. That range applies for our typical rockets with pressures of around 120psi with nozzles under 10mm. The same setup will also be used for full bore tests of up to around 600N.

I'm pretty happy with the sensitivity of the setup as is and would be great for most of the tests, but hopefully with the improved cabling and shielding we should be able to achieve higher resolution. I'll post an update when we test that.

I mounted the load cell for the time being to a big chunk of steel which will be eventually mounted on the test stand.
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