| In this work, the history of the development of the Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) technique in both the United States and Russia is first discussed in detail. A review of the various PSP tests conducted to date is given. A thorough discussion of the physics and chemistry of luminescent coatings is provided. The processes of converting intensity signals in digital data values are described; image processing procedures used to remove noise sources and convert intensity data into pressure measurements are reviewed. A general uncertainty analysis of the technique is then conducted.; A baseline series of low-speed tests at M < 0.2 were conducted using unswept and swept NACA 0012 airfoils. The results of these tests are reviewed. Significant sources of noise were found: experimental processes were modified to reduce these noise components. These process improvements led to results that are unmatched in the literature: RMS Cp errors ranged from 0.21 at M = 0.03 (10 m/s) to 0.03 at M = 0.15 (50 m/s). Analyses were also conducted to identify optimized calibration techniques using pressure taps. A detailed uncertainty analysis is presented using both analytical and Monte Carlo simulation methods. This analysis confirms the observed measurement errors are reasonable, and that if using the in-situ technique, very good accuracies are indeed realizable at low speeds.; Utilizing improved testing techniques, several other experiments at M < 0.2 were conducted to demonstrate the utility and capability of luminescent coatings in the Low-Speed regime, including a NACA 63-215 Mod B main element with a half-span Fowler flap, the deck of a Navy amphibious helicopter landing ship model, and a NASCAR racing model at various drafting orientations. |
