Desenvolvimento de software LabVIEW para controle e execução de ensaios de indentação instrumentada

Abstract

The proper functioning of oil and gas pipelines is of fundamental importance for the country, since oil products move our daily life and economy. There are thousands of kilometers of these structures made of metal ducts spread in Brazil, some of these, due to age, have already lost their specifications. In the case of a defect, a possible repair becomes difficult without the knowledge of the properties of the duct material, so a method to verify the mechanical properties of these ducts to assist in a possible maintenance is the method of Instrumented Macroindentation. The Instrumented Macroindentation is a good option in this scenario, since it can determine the mechanical properties of the analyzed material without causing significant damage to it, and also allows the field test to be performed, ie in-situ. In the Laboratory of Technology at Friction and Wear (LTAD) a macroindentador was developed to perform an instrumented indentation test. This monograph describes the development of a LabVIEW®-based program for monitoring and performing this macroindentator using a personal computer, a Spider8® signal conditioner, a stepper motor, and its driver. For the validation of the program, rubber instrumented indentation tests were initially performed. After the rubber tests showed good results, the steel test was performed successfully.