Temperature Correction of Pressure-Sensitive Paint for Industrial Wind Tunnel Testing

Abstract

Pressure-sensitive paint measurement can obtain a much more detailed surface pressure distribution than can be obtained using conventional pressure taps. However, the pressure-sensitive paint is sensitive not only to pressure but also to temperature, and where high accuracy is required, it is essential to compensate for this temperature dependency. This paper discusses data processing methods for pressure-sensitive paint measurement in transonic industrial wind tunnel testing, and proposes three methods to compensate for temperature dependency of the pressure-sensitive paint: an in situ method, an a priori method, and a hybrid of a priori and in situ methods. The pressure distributions from the pressure-sensitive paint data obtained by these proposed methods are compared with pressure tap data measured by conventional pressure transducers, and it is confirmed that the proposed methods are effective in compensating the temperature dependency of pressure-sensitive paint and improve the accuracy of the obtained data. It is also found that the hybrid of a priori and in situ methods is widely applicable to the industrial wind tunnel testing even if the pressure range of the pressure tap data is limited.