An Innovative Flow-Measuring Device: Thermocouple Boundary Layer Rake

by National Aeronautics and Space Administration

An innovative flow-measuring device, a thermocouple boundary layer rake, was developed. The sensor detects the flow by using a thin-film thermocouple (TC) array to measure the temperature difference across a heater strip. The heater and TC arrays are microfabricated on a constant-thickness quartz strut with low heat conductivity. The device can measure the velocity profile well into the boundary layer, about 65 gm from the surface, which is almost four times closer to the surface than has been possible with the previously used total pressure tube. Hwang, Danny P. and Fralick, Gustave C. and Martin, Lisa C. and Wrbanek, John D. and Blaha, Charles A. Glenn Research Center NASA/TM-2001-211161, E-13019, NAS 1.15:211161, AIAA Paper 2002-0289

28 pages, Paperback

Published June 19, 2018

About the author

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.