Plasma Sensor for High Bandwidth Mass-Flow Measurements at High Mach Numbers with RF Link, Phase I

The proposed program is designed to provide the aerospace industry with a new class of robust sensors that use plasma as the main sensing element. This technology addresses shortcomings in sensing that limits the ability to measure flow quantities in environments characterized by high enthalpy, Mach number, or aerothermal gradients, particularly in the case where high-bandwidth or small volume measurements are required. The plasma sensor provides the ability to obtain feedback in the hot sections of gas-turbines, which is critical to improving their performance and efficiency. Engine manufacturers are limited by current approaches using optical techniques such as laser Doppler velocimetry, which do not provide spatial or temporal resolution, or dynamic pressure sensors such as those manufactured by Kulite, which cannot provide high-temperature reliability. The plasma sensor can provide cheap and reliable sensing capability that can help to advance the state-of-the art in aeronautical engineering. The proposed program is designed to add a robust sensing capability to NASA's mission of research and development in hypersonic and high-enthalpy flow environments, with particular emphasis on mass-ow measurements in a small-measurement volume. This sensor addresses NASA's need to reduce uncertainty and to improve predictive capabilities in boundary layer transition, shock boundary-layer interactions, and other flow conditions involving high enthalpies, temperature gradients, radiative heating or other forms of aerothermal stresses. This technology will support on-going research in the design of scramjet vehicles, improve rotating turbomachinery performance, and the development and validation of transition and turbulence models in both CFD and experiment. It has particular benefit as a laboratory sensor and will provide a turn-key solution to research in high-enthalpy flows. More »