A Novel MEMS-Based Probe for unsteady aerodynamic measurements: a proof-of-concept study

A novel MEMS-based probe is described which is capable of measuring unsteady flow angles, total pressure and velocity. Uniquely, this probe uses shear stress sensors to relate the surface streamline directions on the probe face to the freestream flow angles. The probe has the potential to be miniaturised to around 1 mm in diameter and achieve a temporal resolution of up to several 100 kHz. A computational study of virtual calibrations is used to understand how to adjust the probe geometry and sensor locations to maximise the sensitivity and range of the device. The most promising configuration was calibrated experimentally using a large-scale probe to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept.