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this second approach (i.e. the experiment) is discussed in depth, it is import<strong>an</strong>t to<br />

highlight some fundamentals of strain measurement using electrical strain gauges <strong>an</strong>d<br />

how the data were acquired by using one of the versatile <strong>an</strong>d robust systems (i.e. the<br />

National Instrument CompactRio data acquisition system). These will be explained in<br />

the following section.<br />

4.2 Data acquisition of Composite-based Pipeline Repair<br />

4.2.1 Introduction<br />

In this data acquisition of the composite-based pipeline repair, several sensors <strong>an</strong>d<br />

instruments involved. Basically, the strain gauges, sometimes called electrical<br />

conversion elements or converters, were used as the main sensors because they were<br />

able to tr<strong>an</strong>slate small ch<strong>an</strong>ges in dimension into <strong>an</strong> equivalent ch<strong>an</strong>ge of resist<strong>an</strong>ce as<br />

explained by Weymouth et al. (1979) <strong>an</strong>d the Georgia Institute of Technology (2010).<br />

In other words, these sensors were able to convert the physical parameters into <strong>an</strong><br />

electrical signal. Details of these strain gauges will be discussed further in the next<br />

section.<br />

For more reliable strain gauge measurements, proper selections of signal<br />

conditioning are equally import<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>d required in this Study. Often, these strain gauge<br />

signal conditioners include amplifiers to boost the sensor signal level so that the<br />

measurement resolution (that has been converted from <strong>an</strong>alogue to digital values) c<strong>an</strong> be<br />

increased <strong>an</strong>d signal-to-noise ratios c<strong>an</strong> be improved (National Instruments<br />

Measurement, 2001). NI CompactRio which is a reconfigurable embedded control <strong>an</strong>d<br />

acquisition system was one of the main <strong>an</strong>d import<strong>an</strong>t instruments used in this Study.<br />

This rugged hardware includes I/O modules, reconfigurable field-programmable gate<br />

array (FPGA) chassis <strong>an</strong>d real-time controller, <strong>an</strong>d is programmed with Labview<br />

graphical software as referred to by National Instruments Measurement (2011).<br />

129

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