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| Structural Qualification Facilities |
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The David Florida Laboratory (DFL) has structural qualification tools ranging from electrodynamic shakers to a static load test system. The electrodynamic shakers have force ratings of 178 kN (40 k
lbf) and 76 kN (17 k lbf) respectively. To complement and support classical vibration testing, the DFL
can also perform modal testing on complex space hardware. Further, proof load testing can be achieved using a Static Load Facility incorporating a 12-channel Cyber Fatigue Master Digital Control System.
UD 4000 Shaker
- Sinusoidal: 178 kN (40 k lbf)
- Random: 165 kN (37 k lbf)
- Slip plate: 1.83 x 1.83 m (72 x 72 inches) maximum; multiple plates available
- Head expander: 1.22 m (48 inch) diameter.
Note: Additional free-standing linear hydraulic bearings may supplement the existing large slip table on the UD 4000
Shaker
MB C-150 Shaker
- Sinusoidal: 76 kN (17 k lbf)
- Random: 70 kN (15.8 k lbf)
- Slip plate: 1.52 x 1.52 m (60 x 60 inches) maximum
- Head expander: 0.81 m (32 inch) diameter
Thermal Vibration Facility
LING A395 Shaker
- Sinusoidal: 27 kN (6 k lbf)
- Random: 22 kN (5 k lbf)
- Slip plate: 0.6 x 0.6 m (24 x 24 inches)
- Head expander diameter: 0.6 m (24 inches)
Note: This shaker can also be employed for classical vibration
testing
BURNSCO Thermal Chamber
- Temperature range: +150 to -50°C (+302 to -58°F)
- Chamber size in vertical direction: 1.2 x 1.2 x 0.9 m (48 x 48 x 36 inches)
- Chamber size in lateral direction: 1.2 x 1.2 x 1.35 m (48 x 48 x 53
inches)
MTS Shock Machine
- Height: 3 m (10 ft)
- Platen: 0.6 x 0.6 m (24 x 24 inches)
- Specimen weight: 270 kg (600 lb) maximum
Modal Facility
The Modal Facility, consisting of exciters, HP B2000 workstation, HP 3565S front-end hardware and LMS software, has on-line data acquisition capability of up to 104 channels.
The Modal Facility provides the following capabilities:
- Modal analysis (single input, impact, step-relaxation)
- MIMO modal analysis
- MIMO stepped sine
- Normal modes testing
- Driven-base modal testing
Static Load Facility
A 12-channel Cyber Fatigue Master 7000 Digital Control System, with fatigue and static load control software packages, provides the control and safety monitoring for static load testing.
The Static Load Facility provides the following capabilities:
- Displacement control capability
- Force control capability
- Hydraulic power unit: up to 20.68 MPa (3,000 psi), 75 litres/minute (20 US gallons per minute)
- Hydraulic power unit (alternate): 38 litres/minute (10 US gallons per minute; 3,000 psi)
- Cylinders (17): force ratings: 11.1 to 267 kN (2.5 to 60 k lbf), stroke: up to 15 cm (6 inches)
Note: Six of these cylinders have integrated position transducers.
- Servo valve flow rates (10): 9.5 litres/minute (2.5 US gallons per minute) (4), plus 3.8 litres/minute (1.0 US gallons per minute) (6)
- Data acquisition system: hardware - HP 3852; software - Autonet
- Strain gauge channels (250)
- Displacement transducers: DC-DC LVDT (40)
- Load cells (35): 4.5 to 225 kN (1,000 to 50,000 lbf)
- Reaction frame design capability
- Tie-down area on seismic block: 6 by 7 m (20 x 24 ft)
- Complete range of safety features
Seismic Mass - High Bay 3
- Block size: 7.3 x 8.8 x 2.75 m (deep) (24 x 29 x 9 ft)
- Block mass: 366 tonnes (400 tons)
- Block construction: concrete and steel
- Block suspension: air spring
- First dynamic mode: 98 Hz
- Highest rigid body mode: 3 Hz
- Useable dynamically inactive range: 90 Hz
- T-slot rails for affixing test articles (14): 60 cm (24 inch) centres
- Located in Class 100,000 clean room; Class 10,000 or better readily
available
Mass Properties Facility
- MRC MK VII-16 (dual gas bearing machine)
- Load carrying capability: 25 to 2,720 kg (50 to 6,000 lb)
- Rotational speed: up to 200 RPM
- Measures static imbalance: Centre of gravity (CG)
- Measures dynamic imbalance: Products of inertia (POI)
- Measures moments of inertia (MOI)
- Measures CG, MOI in three axes with appropriate fixturing
- Provides accurate measurement of POI at low speeds
- Calculates the required balance weights
- Optimizes balance weights to the minimum required
- Recomputes balance weights for dedicated locations
- Manipulates data relative to test article's axes
- Computerized control console
- Operates at atmospheric pressure and can operate within the TV5 Chamber (7x10) under soft
vacuum
Vibration Control Systems
Three LMS / HP vibration control systems consisting of HP B2000 workstations, HP 3565S measurement hardware and LMS software can control/notch/limit up to 64 channels. Note: The system has the capability for real-time data acquisition of up to 104 channels; 150 channels in non-real-time.
The vibration control systems provide the following capabilities:
- Random control
- Sine control
- Force-limited vibration testing
- Sine dwell
- Shock control
- Shock response synthesis
- Sine on Random control
- Random on Random control
- Sine and Random on Random control
- Sine data reduction
- Random data reduction
- Shock data reduction
- Shock response analysis
Instrumentation and Monitoring Systems
- Accelerometers of various makes and sensitivities (more than 450)
- Charge amplifiers (144) (UD D-22)
- Video cassette data recorders (6) (28-channel TEAC XD-9000)
- Strain gauge amplifiers (15) (Vishay)
- Vibration monitor/limiters (6) (UD AM-123)
Modal excitation hardware
- Electric impact hammer (PCB)
- Force hammers of various sizes (4) (PCB)
- Force transducers (16) (PCB and DYTRAN): 44 to 440 N (10 to 100 lbf)
- Phase Level Controller: LMS Krypton Box
Note: Required for Normal Modes testing.
- Portable exciters with power amplifiers (2) (B&K;): 45 N (10 lbf)
- Portable exciters with power amplifiers (3) (MB): 110 N (25 lbf)
- Portable exciters with power amplifiers (2) (APS): 135 N (30 lbf)
- Portable exciters with power amplifiers (2) (VTS): 220 N (50 lbf)
- Step relaxation load / release mechanism
- Source modules (5) (HP 35653C)
Photogrammetry Facility
The Photogrammetry Facility uses the Geodetic Services V-STARS/S Photogrammetric Measurement System which allows fast, non-contact, full field, high precision, fully automated measurements of static retroreflective target coordinates and photogrammetric surveys. Photogrammetric surveys include thermal distortion tests of items such as antenna reflectors. Thermal distortion tests are done in the DFL's largest thermal vacuum chamber, TV5 Chamber
(7 x 10 m). The system is used for deployment repeatibility and thermal distortion tests on surfaces or structures to an accuracy of 10 ppm.
The single camera photogrammetry system consists of the following components:
- an INCA 6.3 Digital Camera that uses a built-in computer to control a digital camera having a resolution of 6.3 million pixels
- V-STARS/S processing software that uses an integrated 3-D viewer for visualizing or analyzing data and integrated geometric analyses
- a 2.8 m (110 inch) long, eight section Brunson Invar Scale Bar Kit
- high precision resolution (0.002 inch)
- highly portable system that can be used offsite
- non-contact, full field measurement of deformation using retroreflective targets
- hygroscopic deformation measurement in vacuum also
- ambient test also including deployment repeatability or static load
deformation
Laser Tracker Measurement and Alignment System
The Laser Tracker Measurement and Alignment System allows fast, full field, high precision, automated measurements to a maximum of 1,000 points per second to an angle accuracy of ±10 ppm. The system is used for static measurements, and for dynamic measurements to a velocity of 6 m/s maximum (13 mph).
It is also used to setup and verify the alignment parameters of critical test equipment. For distances greater than 2 m (6 feet), the system can employ an absolute distance meter (ADM) which allows for absolute distance measurement to any fixed corner cube reflector. Since the ADM does not function dynamically, this feature also enables the system to reinitialize the interferometer in case of beam breakage, or to use the tracker as a single point, polar measuring instrument.
The system consists of the following:
- a Leica LTD500 laser tracker head with encoders for measuring rotation angles taken in relation to two orthogonal axes
- Axyz application software
- a laser interferometer for measuring distances to an accuracy of ±2.5
ppm
Aeroacoustics
Critical to the dynamic qualification phase of many space programs is the effect of acoustically induced vibration in spacecraft structures. The DFL assists in the conduct of these tests in collaboration with the Institute for Aerospace Research of the National Research Council of Canada, located in Ottawa.
The Institute for Aerospace Research maintains a large, high intensity noise, acoustic test facility for development, qualification, and acceptance testing of space hardware to support industry and other government departments. This is a unique national facility in which aerospace structures and equipment may be subjected to an environment of intense noise, thereby simulating the effect of rocket and jet engines or high speed aerodynamic flows.
The facility uses a large source of compressed air to drive very powerful, computer controlled noise generators for simulating aeroacoustic noise fields. Unique proprietary noise generators are used to accurately shape and simulate high frequency spectral bands from 1,000 to 10,000 Hz. Typical examples of high level aeroacoustic noise sources include rocket exhausts, high speed fans, propellers, and jets. Complementary disciplines of aeroacoustic research and test include structural dynamics, automatic adaptive control, noise spectrum analysis, and digital signal processing.
The Aeroacoustics Test Facility includes two reverberant chambers and a progressive wave tube:
- The small chamber is approximately 4.6 x 4.6 x 3.1 m (15 x 15 x 10 ft) and can supply sound pressure levels up to 160 dB with accurate spectrum shaping between the frequencies of 30 and 10,000 Hz. It has been used to test the Canadian HERMES satellite as well as representative sections of aircraft fuselages. The progressive wave tube is part of this chamber
- The large chamber is 9.8 x 6.9 x 8.0 m (32 x 23 x 26 ft) and can supply sound pressure levels up to 157 dB with accurate spectrum shaping between the frequencies of 30 and 10,000 Hz. The chamber together with a 15.9 x 13.2 x 13.5 m (52 x 43 x 44 ft) Class 100,000 clean room preparation bay has been used to test large satellites such as
Canada's MSAT, RADARSAT-1, and ANIK-E, and the European Space
Agency's Olympus spacecraft. In addition, numerous payload items such as antennas have been tested.
A computer-based automatic control system accurately controls the spectrum input to the chamber.
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