United States Department of Transportation
i
A Microwave System for Surface Collection Efficiency Measurements
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2022-10-01
[PDF-3.61 MB]
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Edition:Final Report
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Abstract:A microwave system was developed to measure the amount of water collected on a surface of an airfoil relative to the amount of water in a cloud that should impinge an equivalent projected area, as well as the ratio of these quantities, which is defined as the surface collection efficiency. Traditional methods for measuring collection efficiency involve attaching blotter paper to an airfoil surface to collect droplets with dye added to the water entering the spray bar system. Following precise spray system actuation, the amount of dye remaining on the blotter paper is measured using a reflectance spectroscopy system. The effort to develop a new microwave system for collection efficiency measurements included: 1) construction of two single-waveguide models and one partial airfoil model with multiple microwave waveguides and a multiplexing system, 2) construction of a spray system for the Liquid Film and Cloud Chamber (LFACT) at the Baylor University with fast pneumatic actuation, and 3) testing of the microwave sensing system in the LFACT. The feasibility and operating physics of the microwave elements was verified, and multiple methods for using the system in a larger icing wind tunnel were explored. The spray bar system demonstrated adequate cloud actuation times for the most useful measurement approach. However, the clouds generated in the LFACT were found to be non-uniform. Methods were explored to account for the cloud non-uniformity in the LFACT for future microwave- sensor collection efficiency investigations. A provisional patent (Application # 63/239,207) has been filed for the flexible printed circuit board (PCB) and microwave sensing approach for liquid film thickness measurements with the title “A Microwave System for Detection and Characterization of Materials Interacting with Aircraft and Airfoil Surfaces.”
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