Testing experience with unheated stain-gage balances in the NTF

A series of cryogenic (cryo) cycles was conducted in the cryo chamber at the National Transonic Facility (NTF) in order to identify the cause of apparent strain shifts in axial force with temperature for the Pathfinder I model and to minimize their effects. The results of the investigation indicated that the major cause of axial force end point shifts and thermal hysteresis loops was the thickness of the Teflon insulation on the instrumentation wires crossing the balance. By reducing the thickness of the insulation and the total number and size of the wires, apparent strain values were achieved for the model with instrumentation wires which were nearly identical to those for the model without wires. Because of the special design features used, the balance output was very accurate and repeatable over the entire NTF temperature range, even with balance thermal gradients as large as 64 F and transient conditions as large as 3 F/minute.