Applications of temperature-sensitive luminescent paints in aerodynamics

Tianshu Liu, Purdue University

Abstract

This thesis presents the principles of the temperature-sensitive luminescent paint technique for surface temperature and heat transfer measurements. The properties of two luminescent paints, EuTTA-dope and Ru(bpy)-Shellac, are discussed in detail. The temperature calibration procedure and three types of measurement systems (CCD camera system, laser scanning system and lifetime/phase detection system) are described. The accuracy of the luminescent paint technique for temperature and heat transfer measurements, in general, depends on the chemical and physical properties of the paint, the measurement system and the wind tunnel test conditions. Some bias error sources, such as photodegradation and temperature hysteresis, are analyzed. Calibration uncertainty and random errors related to measurement system noise are experimentally estimated. Time response of the paints to rapid temperature change are measured. In order to examine the capabilities of this technique, the temperature-sensitive luminescent paint is used in several aerodynamics experiments including shock/turbulent boundary layer interaction, temperature field of a surface hot film sensor in a turbulent boundary layer, heat transfer on a waverider model at Mach 10, and excited jet impingement heat transfer. These studies demonstrate that the luminescent paint technique can obtain not only the surface temperature field on a very small object like a hot film sensor, but also two-dimensional heat transfer maps in complicated flow phenomena like the separation induced by shock/boundary layer interaction and boundary layer transition in hypersonic flow. Quantitative comparison of heat transfer measured using the paint technique with data obtained by conventional methods is good in many cases.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Sullivan, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Aerospace materials|Mechanical engineering

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