Graduation Semester and Year

2010

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

First Advisor

Frank Lu

Abstract

Fiber-optic sensors are widely employed to detect pressures and temperatures precisely. In particular, MEMS-based Ber-optic sensors are immune to electromagnetic interference but may have limitations at high temperatures as encountered in combustors. To ensure high-temperature survivability, such sensors may be bondedanodically. This project explains the development of a Ber-optic pressure sensor utilizing intensity based principle whereby a fused silica optical window was glued to the tungsten carbide enclosure. The development was estimated to determine high pressures of up to at least 3.5 MPa (507 psi). The sensor is designed to capture the pressure pulse and the time-of-flight (TOF) of a propagating detonation wave for implementation shock tubes. Time-of- flight is critically important in detonation studies as it relates directly to the detonation wave velocity. Generally, the TOF is obtained by discrete sensors separated by a distance of at least a few cm. Thus, the propagation velocity, is strictly the average over that distance, thereby introducing a certain uncertainty. In order to obtain a point measurement, the separation distance between the sensors should be kept as short as possible. Advances in MEMS and electro-optics have made it possible to devise such an integrated TOF sensor together with high-speed data acquisition.

Disciplines

Aerospace Engineering | Engineering | Mechanical Engineering

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

Download

Share

COinS