Hydrofoil design is a delicate balance of finding the right shape without using overly complex angles to achieve the desired amount of lift. It is crucial when designing a successful hydrofoil for maritime applications. Once an engineer’s concepts are ready for testing, using the best force measurement equipment is required to sense the subtle differences between hydrofoil designs.
Lift and drag are the most important characteristics of a hydrofoil. The 3A120 3-Axis Force Load Cell is needed to read these forces. The Fz senses lift and the Fx and Fy sense the drag. Using the BSC4D-USB bridge amplifier increases the visibility of the load cells output signals.
When using the load cell and bridge amplifier, the engineers are able to record the real world lift and drag forces the hydrofoils apply to on the water craft. This data allows a more in-depth comparison of proposed hydrofoil designs to find the best model for the job.
