Appropriate Selection of Pressure-Sensitive Paint for Cryogenic Wind Tunnels

Abstract

The appropriate combination of a luminophore and a binder for Pressure-Sensitive Paint (PSP) for a cryogenic wind tunnel has been investigated. The sensitivity of a PSP is governed by the luminescence lifetime of a luminophore, the oxygen permeability of a binder and the oxygen partial pressure in a test gas. Test conditions in cryogenic wind tunnels (oxygen concentrations: 0.1% or less, temperatures: 100 – 180 K) are greatly different from those in “warm” wind tunnels (oxygen concentrations: 21%, temperatures: 300-330 K). Therefore, PSPs for a cryogenic wind tunnel demand severe requirements for a luminophore and a binder. In this paper, we studied the necessary conditions of PSP for cryogenic wind tunnels and evaluated them experimentally.