The objective of this work is to design, fabricate, and characterize a multifunctional thermal sensor for high temperature environments of suitable for use in rocket propulsion testing. Besides…

The objective of this work is to design, fabricate, and characterize a multifunctional thermal sensor for high temperature environments of suitable for use in rocket propulsion testing. Besides being able to provide accurate and repeatable data, the sensor will be designed to utilize low cost materials, be batch fabrication-compatible, and remain unobtrusive to flow or test operation during use. The sensor is based on the strategic integration of high temperature-compatible thin film thermocouples and thermopiles onto ceramic substrates using industry-standard microfabrication processes. This approach allows for batch-fabrication of small, low profile, low cost sensors which can be utilized across a wide variety of components and environments without significantly disrupting heat flow or operation. The thermocouple/thermopile features will be designed to provide both surface temperature and surface heat flux data simultaneously. When multiple such sensors are placed at various locations on a component of interest, temperature gradient information may also be obtained with millimeter-scale resolution. Unlike previous studies on the use of thin film thermocouples for high temperature applications [1-4], this project seeks to develop a robust thermomechanical design with integrated surface patterning to minimize thermally-induced stresses and prevent destructive cracking or delamination. Further details as to the sensor fabrication, validation, and testing procedures associated with the proposed work are presented in section III. His project is directly aligned with the propulsion testing instrumentation needs at NASA SSC, both for use on space flight components under evaluation as well as on critical test stand infrastructure. In addition, this technology would be highly attractive for many commercial applications such as nuclear power, gas turbines, aircraft engines, and industrial manufacturing/processing such that there is a high degree of commercialization potential as described in section IV. This work will also have beneficial educational and work force development impact by providing the supported graduate student with cutting-edge skills and hands-on experience in a technologically important field while introducing them to the specific opportunities and challenges associated with aerospace engineering.