Development of pressure sensitive molecular film applicable to pressure measurement for high Knudsen number flows

Experimental analyses of thermo-fluid phenomena of micro- and nano-flows with high Knudsen number need the measurement techniques based on interaction of atoms or molecules with photons. The pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technique has potential as a diagnostic tool for pressure measurement in the high Knudsen number regime because it works as a so-called “molecular sensor”. However, application of PSP to micro devices is very difficult because the conventional PSP is too thick owing to the use of polymer binder and does not have sufficient spatial resolution for pressure measurement of micro-flows. In this study, we have adopted the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique to fabricate pressure sensitive molecular films (PSMFs) using Pd(II) Octaethylporphine (PdOEP) and Pd(II) Mesoporphyrin IX (PdMP) to resolve ordinary PSPs problems, and have tested these PSMFs to evaluate the feasibility of the pressure measurement around micro-devices. It is clarified that the PSMF composed of PdMP has higher sensitivity than that of PdOEP. Since it is also considered that the sensitivity of PSMFs can be increased by introducing arachidic acid (AA) as spacer molecules of LB films to prevent the aggregation of luminescent molecules, we have produced PSMFs with several molar ratio of PdMP to AA. At the most suitable ratio, the PSMF has high sensitivity in the low pressure region with high Knudsen number, even if the amount of the luminescent molecules in the PSMF layer is smaller than that in conventional PSPs. This result indicates that the PSMF is feasible to measure the pressure in high Knudsen number flows such as micro-flows.     

Pressure sensitive paint demonstrates relationship between ejector wall pressure and aerodynamic performance

 This paper provides an example of the application of Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) to complex internal suspersonic flows and demonstrates the relationship between ejector wall pressure and aerodynamic performance. Details of such jet mixer-ejector nozzles are relevant to jet noise reduction programs. Several ejector configurations with straight, convergent, and divergent side walls were used in our experiments. The side-wall that was painted with PSP was also instrumented with an array of 156 pressure taps connected to Electronically Scanned Pressure (ESP) modules, enabling simultaneous measurement of “true” reference pressures. The PSP results agreed very well with the “true” reference pressures and also provided a detailed map of the complicated pressure patterns that could not be detected using the pressure taps. Finally, we also demonstrated the direct relationship between ejector side-wall pressure distribution and ejector performance characteristics such as exit mean flow uniformity, pumping, and thrust augmentation. Received: 16 December 1997/Accepted: 21 August 1998     

Application of fast-responding pressure-sensitive paint to a hemispherical dome in unsteady transonic flow

The current work focuses on the development and application of fast-responding polymer/ceramic pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) as an advanced surface pressure measurement technique for unsteady flow fields in large-scale wind tunnels. To demonstrate the unsteady PSP technique, the unsteady surface pressure distribution over a hemispherical dome placed in the United States Air Force Research Laboratory’s Trisonic Gasdynamics Facility (TGF) was studied by phase-locking to the characteristic frequency in the flow caused by an unsteady separated shear layer shed from the dome. The wind tunnel was operated at stagnation pressures of 23.92 and 71.84 kPa, with the test section flow at Mach 0.6. Under the two operating conditions, the predominant shear layer frequency was measured to be 272 and 400 Hz, respectively. The quasi-periodic shear layer frequency enabled a phase-averaged method to be employed for capturing the unsteady shock motion on the hemisphere. Unsteady pressure data resulting from this technique are shown to correlate well with measurements acquired by conventional measurement techniques. Measurement uncertainty in the phase-averaging technique will be discussed. To address measurement uncertainties from temperature sensitivity and model movement, a new implementation of an AC-coupled data representation is offered.     

Surface pressure field mapping using luminescent coatings

In recent experiments we demonstrated the feasibility of using the oxygen dependence of luminescent molecules for surface pressure measurement in aerodynamic testing. This technique is based on the observation that for many luminescent molecules the light emitted increases as the oxygen partial pressure, and thus the air pressure, the molecules see decreases. In practice the surface to be observed is coated with an oxygen permeable polymer containing a luminescent molecule and illuminated with ultraviolet radiation. The airflow induced surface pressure field is seen as a luminescence intensity distribution which can be measured using quantitative video techniques. Computer processing converts the video data into a map of the surface pressure field. The experiments consisted of evaluating a trial luminescent coating in measuring the static surface pressure field over a two-dimensional NACA-0012 section model airfoil for Mach numbers ranging from 0.3 and 0.66. Comparison of the luminescent coating derived pressures were made to those obtained from conventional pressure taps. The method along with the experiment and its results will be described.     

Pressure-sensitive paint measurements in a shock tube

 Surface pressures were measured in the short-duration, transient flow environment of a small-scale, low pressure-ratio shock tube using thin-film pressure-sensitive paint (PSP). Issues regarding coating formulation, measurement uncertainty, optical system design, and temperature and illumination compensation are discussed. The pressure measurements were acquired during steady flow conditions following the passage of normal shocks and expansion regions along a flat sidewall and a wedge sidewall. The PSP characteristic response time was 3 to 6 ms. Overall pressure uncertainty for the shock tube measurements ranged up to 5% over one atmosphere and compared well with theoretical estimates of uncertainty. Received: 20 April 1998 / Accepted: 9 September 1998     

Treating temperature-sensitivity effects of pressure-sensitive paint measurements

 While pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) is evolving into a viable alternative to conventional pressure taps for surface pressure measurements, the inherent temperature-sensitivity of the coating’s fluorescence intensity is a prominent drawback. Unless the PSP is applied to a temporally and spatially isothermal surface, this inherent temperature-sensitivity effect severely limits the accuracy of the two-dimensional pressure distribution obtained from the coating. In this study, the pressure- and temperature-sensitivity effects of three commonly used PSPs and two temperature-sensitive paints (TSPs) are evaluated over pressure and temperature ranges found in many compressible flow experiments. In addition, four PSP data reduction methods are compared by applying PSP to a transverse jet-in-crossflow experiment. Each data reduction method encompasses a different degree of temperature correction. Conventional pressure tap measurements are used to evaluate the accuracy of each method. Received: 27 January 1997/Accepted: 15 July 1997     

Application of novel pressure-sensitive paint formulations for the surface flow mapping of high-speed jets

The principle of pressure-sensitive paints (PSPs) is based upon excitation of the luminophore molecules at a certain wavelength and the emission of this absorbed energy at a higher wavelength. By isolating these two wavelengths we insure that the results obtained are not affected by any background radiation. Various international research groups, such as: the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (Russia), the University of Washington, NASA Ames, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas (USA), have developed their PSP formulations and some are commercially available.Two paints, which have been developed in-house at the Aero-Physics Laboratory (APL) at the University of Manchester, are studied here. One formulation uses hydrochloric acid (PSP1–HCl) and the other acetone as the solvent (PSP2–Ace). The current study employs the well known schlieren photography technique together with the relatively new PSP method, with comparison to discrete measurements, to examine the flow through a two-dimensional air-ejector system and examines the efficacy of the PSP formulations in providing an accurate global pressure field of the aforementioned setup. Detailed analysis of the errors and drawbacks involved in PSP measurements along with possible solutions to overcome them are also presented. Fully expanded jet Mach numbers in the range of 0.52 ? M_j ? 1.36 were examined.     

压敏漆测压在低速射流撞击壁面的应用研究

压敏漆(pressure sensitive paint,PSP)测压是一种基于发光分子氧猝灭效应的测压技术,与传统测压方式相比具有成本小、空间分辨率高等特点.实验搭建了压敏漆测压硬件平台,开发了数据处理软件系统.利用驻点处的压强与灰度关系拟合了标定曲线,研究了低速射流撞击平板表面的压强分布特性,分析了喷管距离壁面高度和雷诺数的影响.结果表明,当喷管高度h/d<6时,压强分布曲线的峰值压强和半宽度随喷管高度变化基本不变;当喷管高度h/d>6时,随着高度的增大,峰值压强线性减小,半宽度线性增加.采用峰值压强和半宽度对不同喷管高度的压强分布曲线进行无量纲化,压强分布曲线呈现自相似特性.进一步研究表明,在实验雷诺数范围内,压强分布受雷诺数影响较小.      

Pressure-sensitive paint in aerodynamic testing

Pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) is a relatively new aerodynamic measurement tool with the unique capability of providing a field measurement of pressure over a test surface. An introductory review of this technology is presented, which is confined to the application of the PSP method to aircraft development wind tunnel testing. This is at present the primary application area and thus the focus of research on the use of the method, and is the authors' own area of research. Described are PSP fundamentals, the various elements comprising PSP technology, and current limitations and considerations in applying this technology. Experimental results are presented to illustrate the present capability of the method. The few publications currently available on this subject in the open literature are also referenced.     

Accuracy of correlation-based image registration for pressure-sensitive paint

The accuracy of correlation-based image registration (CBIR) in the analysis of pressure-sensitive paints (PSP) was investigated. CBIR has been developed to perform accurate image registration without the need for control points, even for model motions containing nonlinear local deformations. In the present study, the influence of displacement errors and their sensitivity on the accuracy of pressure measurement was examined by uncertainty analysis. The error sources in image registration were classified and several factors affecting the accuracy of image registration were examined. The performances of image registration were evaluated under several artificial model motions. Local intensity variations due to speckles, which enhance the image correlation in CBIR, may act as a source of image noise. The local pressure sensitivity in the presence and absence of speckles was investigated through pixel-by-pixel calibration. A spatial filtering was employed to reduce the local intensity variations. It was found that application of a median filter decreased the fluctuations in the local pressure sensitivity and significantly reduced the sensitivity of the intensity error to misregistration.     

Feasibility study of whole-field pressure measurements in gas flows: molecular tagging manometry

Outlined in this paper are the theoretical foundation, implementation framework and experimental demonstration of a new diagnostic technique for non-intrusive, whole-field measurement of pressure within gasses. The new technique, which is referred to as molecular tagging manometry (MTM), relies on oxygen quenching of phosphorescence emission from photo-excited tracers in oxygen-containing gases. As the pressure increases, the density of oxygen becomes larger, leading to a shorter emission lifetime: a working principle that is similar to pressure sensitive paint but applied within the body of the flow rather than on the wall. Using an experimental apparatus that is built around a pressure vessel, the viability of MTM is demonstrated for the first time using acetone as a tracer. Furthermore, the experimentally recorded response is compared to theoretical predictions, and the sensitivity of MTM’s response to the uncertainty of various parameters is analyzed.     

Application of pressure-sensitive paint for determination of the pressure field and calculation of the forces and moments of models in a wind tunnel

The visualization and measurements of aerodynamic effects on a 3D aircraft model were conducted using an optical pressure measurement system, based on the pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technique. PSP technology provides a good understanding of the flow around the wind tunnel model. The PSP technique can be used to carry out absolute pressure measurements on a surface of the model and to determine additional aerodynamic data using scientific-grade cameras and image processing techniques. Surface pressures from the top, bottom, left, and right viewing directions were obtained using the DLR-PSP system on the entire surface, which can be observed by eight CCD cameras. Finally, the measured pressures can be integrated to calculate the forces and moments of the complete model, or parts thereof.     

Predictions of the excess pressure drop of Boger fluids through a 2:1:2 contraction–expansion geometry using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics are used to generate the flow of polymer solutions, specifically of Boger fluids, through a planar 2:1:2 contraction–expansion geometry. The solvent molecules are represented by Lennard–Jones particles, while linear molecules are described by spring-monomers with a finite extensible non-linear elastic spring potential. The equations for Poiseuille flow are solved using a multiple time-scale algorithm extended to non-equilibrium situations. Simulations are performed at constant temperature using Nose–Hoover dynamics. At simulation conditions, changes in concentration show no significant effect on molecular conformation, velocity profiles, and stress fields, while variations in the Deborah number have a strong influence on fluid response. Increasing the magnitude of the Deborah number (De), larger deformation rates are developed in the flow region. For a Deborah number of one, the non-dimensional pressure drop presents values lower than the correspondent Newtonian case. However, for large Deborah numbers, the pressure drop increases above the Newtonian reference. An effective excess pressure drop above the Newtonian value is predicted for Boger fluids along this geometry.     

Dynamic surface pressure measurements on a square cylinder with pressure sensitive paint

The dynamic and static surface pressure on a square cylinder during vortex shedding was measured with pressure sensitive paints (PSPs) at three angles of incidence and a Reynolds number of 8.9×10⁴. Oscillations in the phosphorescence intensity of the PSP that occurred at the vortex shedding frequency were observed. From these phosphorescent oscillations, the time-dependent changes in pressure distribution were calculated. This work extends PSP’s useful range to dynamic systems where oscillating pressure changes are on the order of 230 Pa and occur at frequencies in the range of 95–125 Hz.     

Pressure measurements on the impingement surface of sonic and sub-sonic jets impinging onto a flat plate at inclined angles

The flow field associated with a jet impinging onto a surface at an inclined angle is investigated using pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) and particle image velocimetry. The PSP yields continuous measurements of pressure on the jet impingement surface. The jet footprint on the impingement surface is visualized using the half-maximum pressure contour. The results indicate that the impingement angle of the jet is the dominant parameter in determining the footprint of the jet on the impingement surface. This contour is similar in shape to an ellipse that is created by projecting the nozzle through the impingement surface. The ellipse is centered at the location of maximum pressure and the width of the minor axis is just over one jet diameter. The location of maximum pressure is found upstream of the geometric impingement point and this location is a strong function of the impingement angle. A curve fit for the location of maximum pressure can be constructed using an exact solution of the Navier–Stokes equations for a non-orthogonal stagnation flow. The maximum value of pressure is a function of impingement angle and varies as the sine of the impingement angle squared; the maximum pressure is also a function of jet impingement distance. Using these results, a simple procedure for predicting the overall structure of the jet on the impingement surface is presented.     

Strain Separation on a Nonplanar Object Using a Luminescent Photoelastic Coating

This paper presents the theoretical modeling and corresponding experimental results of the oblique incidence response of a luminescent photoelastic coating (LPC) applied to a cylinder under load. LPC is a measurement technique to acquire full-field maximum shear strain and its principal strain direction. The technique uses an absorption dye and a luminescent dye within a photoelastic coating, and the coating is applied on the surface of the specimen using conventional aerosol techniques. On 3D objects, the response of the emission field is dependent on the excitation orientation due to the surface inclination of the structural component and the out-of-plane strain component within the coating. Full-field strain separated results have been previously demonstrated on a 2D specimen. The extension of the strain separation technique to a 3D specimen—a cylinder in bending—is the focus of this investigation. Two different responses were obtained from normal and oblique excitation. As a result, the principal strain was separated over ±56° of circumference of the cylinder with RMS error relative to the theoretical result of 87 μɛ for maximum principal strain and 78 μɛ for minimum.     

Elastic response from pressure drop measurements through planar contraction–expansion geometries by molecular dynamics: structural effects in melts and molecular origin of excess pressure drop

In this work, we use nonequilibrium molecular dynamics to simulate a contraction–expansion flow of various systems, namely melts with molecules of various conformations (linear, branched, and star), linear molecules in solution, and a reference Lennard–Jones fluid. The equations for Poiseuille flow are solved using a multiple time scale algorithm extended to nonequilibrium situations. Simulations are performed at constant temperature using the Nose–Hoover dynamics. The main objective of this analysis is to investigate the molecular origin of pressure drop along planar contraction–expansion geometry, varying the length of the contraction, and the effect that different molecular conformations have on the resulting pressure drop along the geometry. Pressure drop is closely related to mass distribution (in neutral and gradient directions) and branching index of molecules. Also, it is shown that remarkable increases of pressure drops are also possible in planar geometries, provided large extensional viscosities combined with moderate values of the first normal stress difference in shear are considered, in addition to considerable reductions of the flow area at the contraction region.     

Low hydrocarbon mixtures ignition delay times investigation behind reflected shock waves

Ignition delays for low alkanes/oxygen mixtures highly diluted with argon were measured behind a reflected shock wave using ultraviolet emission spectrometry in wide ranges of temperature (1200–2700 K), pressure (0.1–1.8 MPa), equivalence ratio (0.5–2) and dilution (89–99%). For each alkane (methane, ethane and propane), a correlation between ignition delay time, temperature, pressure and concentration is proposed and compared with those obtained in previous studies. This correlation enables the estimation of the delay time with an accuracy better than 20% for all measurement ranges. Results are compared with those from a recent study of the detailed kinetic modelling of the alkane oxidation. Received 12 March 2001 / Accepted 28 August 2001     

Pressure-dependent viscosity of powder injection moulding compounds

A single piston capillary rheometer was modified by the addition of a second chamber with a restricting valve (developed at the Polymer Centre, Zlín, Czech Republic), which provides backpressure and increasing the pressure in the melted material during the flow through the die. The Carreau–Yasuda model was employed to fit the measured viscosity data and determine the temperature and pressure coefficients for polyolefin based binder and its compounds with carbide powder. Both temperature and pressure sensitivity coefficients are largely dependent on the structure of a polymer, which should be taken into account for binder-formation’s development. Increasing the loading level of the powder in the compound diminishes the pressure sensitivity of their flow properties.     

Characterization of a new luminescent photoelastic coating

The luminescent photoelastic coating (LPC) technique measures the full-field shear strain and its principal direction on the surface of complex three-dimensional components. The measured optical strain response is also dependent on the coating thickness. Achieving uniform coating thickness is difficult, and thus requires thickness correction for accurate quantitative strain measurements. The original formulations of LPC employed a dual-layer coating containing luminescent dyes to transmit both strain and thickness information. This paper will document (theory and experiment) a new strategy: a single-layer coating that incorporates both a luminescent dye and an absorption dye. Dependent on the concentration of the absorption and luminescent dyes, the solution is sprayed onto the object of interest to a minimum threshold thickness that corresponds to a predefined penetration depth. Advantages of the single-layer coating are the elimination of thickness dependency, the elimination of compliance and adhesion issues between multiple layers, simpler data acquisition and post-processing methods, and easier and faster coating preparation and application.