High Speed Surface Thermocouples Interface to Wireless Transmitters

This project will enhance existing telemetry and thermocouple technology to develop a faster, harsh environment wireless telemetry system and an ultra sensitive, high speed, surface thermocouple for surface temperature measurements on the crown of a diesel piston.Three different state-of-the-art thermocouple methods will be explored to create a very low mass thermocouple junction. These methods are plasma welding, vacuum deposition, andplatinum laser deposition.Each will be evaluated for reaction speed with targeted response times in the micro-second range while surviving in harsh vibration, shock, and temperature environments.It is also proposed that these thermocouples will be interfaced to a wireless telemetry transmitter on the piston which will allow the surface temperature data to be transmitted from the piston during engine operation. This will be accomplished in a running diesel engine with surface measurements on the piston crown. Each thermocouple design will be compared simultaneously on the same piston in the engine using the same wireless transmitter.IR Telemetrics currently utilizes an RF transmitter with a minimum bandwidth of 10 kHz sampling rate.Through the project development, this transmitter will be increased to 35 kHz or more.