High Temperature Force Sensor System for Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Test

Measurements of vehicle/test article component loads and control-surface loads are required during testing to provide vital information for flight vehicle control, design and performance estimation and for structural design loads prediction. Accurate measurements of forces and moments experienced by the test article are critical during wind tunnel tests. Typical wind tunnel conditions are speeds of Mach 8 at total temperature up to 900 ºF. Thermal effects associated with testing in the continuous-flow hypersonic wind tunnel impose challenges for strain-gauge balances or other force/moment measuring devices used for component loads. A non-water-cooled thermal protection and compensation design solution is needed. In this proposal, Intelligent Automation Inc. (IAI) proposes to develop innovative sensor architectures, electronics, and software techniques to provide the force sensor with capabilities of continuous measurements under high temperature without water-cooling or thermal protection. BENEFIT: Force and displacement measurements are the most common requirements for many applications, including the electro-mechanical system monitoring, dynamic feedback control, and actuation etc. The stain-gauge based load cells normally are not suitable for harsh environments such as at high temperatures. The proposed high temperature force sensor has many unique advantages because it possesses a strong noise-resistance and sustains to harsh environments. Besides for hypersonic wind tunnel tests, this sensor design can be applied to many high/cryogenic temperature applications such as the surface ships and submarines, air and ground vehicles, etc. as well as mechanical control and monitoring in strong radiation environments such as the nuclear power plant. Therefore, the commercial potential of this research results is very high.