Virtual Instrumentation in an Undergraduate Electrical Machines Lab

At OSU, we have substantially completed a major instru-mentation upgrade of the undergraduate energy conversion laboratory. We are now utilizing digital signal acquisition and virtual instrumentation (using National Instruments' LabVIEW software) to collect and visualize data. Data from GPIB digital oscilloscopes can also be acquired in our setup. Dynamometers have been purchased which interface to the digital acquisition hardware, allowing computerized collection of torque, speed, and angular position, as well as computer control of the mechanical load provided by the dynamometers. In this paper, the laboratory setup is described, and a few of the new capabilities, including real-time phasor display of AC data and spectral analysis, are highlighted. Anecdotal evidence of the improved learning environment is also presented.