A new optical pressure measurement system (OPMS)

The OPMS allows the measurement of pressure distribution over the whole surface of a wind tunnel model without pressure orifices, tubing and wiring. The model is simply coated with luminescence intensity pressure sensor paint which is illuminated by a laser light source. Due to the oxygen quenching of the molecules in the active paint layer, the intensity of the emitted light from the model surface differs according to the different pressures acting on the surface. The emitted light is then recorded by means of a sensitive charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera which transmits the detected information to a processing unit, allowing reconstruction of the pressure distribution