Development of Embedded Diagnostics for Internal Flow-Field Measurements in Gas Turbine Engines

Abstract

Recent interest in advanced gas turbine engine development and condition monitoring has revealed the need for more robust internal flow-field diagnostics. Conventional internal flowfield diagnostics have been limited to coarse temperature measurements from submerged thermocouples, wall surface pressure measurements, or specialized diagnostics systems configured specifically for rigs or flow simulators. In recent years, significant progress has been achieved in the development of flow-field probes and optical diagnostics systems to obtain flow-field characteristics in high-temperature combustion environments; however, the probes are bulky and suitable only for exit plane measurements, and the optical techniques are limited by lack of optical access. Personnel at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee, have initiated efforts to pursue the development of embedded diagnostics for internal flow-field measurements in gas turbine engines. This paper discusses recent accomplishments and future plans in cooled miniature probe development, embedded sensor progress, and advances in optical techniques that may be applied to internal flow-field measurements in gas turbine engines.