Adhesive Temperature-Sensitive Paint Films for Aerodynamic Heating Measurements

Temperature-sensitive paint (TSP) films are developed via application of the TSP to 0.11-mm-thick polyvinyl-chloride films with an adhesive backing. This approach allows the TSP to be quickly replaced on models if surface damage occurs during testing, which is common in impulse facilities used to create hypersonic flow conditions. This work demonstrates that quantitative calibration of the TSP signal is still possible and that only the top coat of TSP is necessary for application to the thermally insulative films, which aids in simplifying heat flux calculations. The TSP film is also compared to infrared thermography of a [Formula: see text] cone in Mach 7 flow, which demonstrates practical use in an aerodynamic setting. Overall, this approach may yield better calibration capabilities and higher measurement throughput and quality.