New DAQ modules for strain gauges and power

Posted to News on 15th Dec 2008, 10:19

New DAQ modules for strain gauges and power

National Instruments is expanding its C Series data acquisition family with the NI 9225 300V power measurement module as well as the NI 9235 and NI 9236 eight-channel strain gauge measurement modules. These modules are supported on NI C Series-based devices including the NI CompactDAQ plug-and-play data acquisition system, NI CompactRIO rugged control and acquisition system and NI Single-Board RIO embedded design devices. These three new modules expand the C Series I/O platform to more than 40 modules and add power quality testing capabilities.

Using the NI 9225 300V measurement module, engineers can make high-voltage measurements to test battery stacks or monitor power quality events. The analogue input module is designed for high-voltage waveform measurements, such as line-to-neutral as well as line-to-line measurements of 110V power grids and line-to-neutral measurements of 240V power grids. The NI 9225 has three simultaneously sampled channels at 50kS/s for accurate three-phase power metering and power quality measurements such as flicker, harmonics and power factor.

Richard Jennings, President of Jennings Embedded Services, LLC, says: "The application we are developing requires sub-cycle response to changes in voltage and current. Using the NI 9225 measurement module along with the NI 9239 analogue input module, LabVIEW and CompactRIO, we were easily able to build a power quality meter with unmatched real-time response, but with all the analysis capabilities of a high-end, off-the-shelf instrument."

Strain gauge measurements

Both the NI 9235 and NI 9236 strain gage modules deliver eight channels of simultaneously sampled 24-bit quarter-bridge strain gauge measurements. The channel density and fast sampling rate of 10kS/s per channel make these modules well-suited for structural health monitoring, dynamic mechanical test and impact tests. Engineers can synchronise up to eight modules in an NI CompactDAQ or CompactRIO chassis to create a 64-channel strain measurement system, and synchronise multiple chassis to the same clock or GPS signal for even higher-channel-count or distributed systems.

An intuitive NI LabVIEW graphical programming environment makes it easy for engineers to communicate to and read data from C Series I/O modules. Because of the enhanced software integration with I/O modules, engineers can use the LabVIEW programming environment to develop and deploy code across multiple C Series platforms to fit their specific project needs. They can use the same LabVIEW environment to create a USB data logger with NI CompactDAQ, an industrial control or structural health monitoring system with CompactRIO or an embedded system with NI Single-Board RIO.

Prices for the new products are as follows: