Wireless Telemetric Data Acquisition and Real-Time Control for a High Measurement-Density Internal Heat Transfer Experiment

This paper describes a wireless data transmission system for a large-scale rotating experiment to investigate the heat transfer in a three-passage serpentine test section. Patterned after the NASA HOST program, the current experiment extends the data set to larger aspect ratios including 1:2, 1:4, and 1:6. As with HOST, heat transfer is measured using the heated segments technique, and the serpentine test section spins at rotation numbers representative of engine conditions. Rotating experiments are essential for capturing the representative operating conditions and complicated flow physics that must be understood to advance internal cooling technology for high aspect ratio configurations. There are challenges associated with controlling the operating parameters and collecting accurate data for high measurement-density rotating experiments. This experiment requires that 140 copper panels be held at a constant temperature by independently controlling and recording the power supplied to a separate heater on each panel. This means there must be 140 temperature measurements, 140 pairs of heater power leads, enough power to drive all of these heaters, and data recording capacity left over to measure fluid temperatures and pressures. Traditional methods of transferring rotating signals to the stationary frame of reference (like slip rings) are widely implemented but have practical limitations in the quantity of transferrable signals and the electrical current capacity of the individual channels. Alternatively, wireless transmission techniques were first developed decades ago, but their practical use has been limited by onboard power delivery requirements and cost. This paper describes the development of a new data transmission and control system that takes advantage of improvements in inexpensive electronics to create a battery-powered and microprocessor controlled system for acquisition, storage, control, and wireless communication. These components are assembled as an integral part of the rotating mechanical hardware. By handling high-fidelity microcircuit signal conditioning, data acquisition, feedback control, and data storage in the rotating frame and transmitting the results wirelessly, this system provides high measurement density and active feedback control that would have been impractical with a conventional slip-ring approach. The design and construction of the wireless control system for one full sidewall of the three-serpentine passage is described in detail. Its capability and functionality is demonstrated with operational data. It will be demonstrated that while all of the components in this system are readily available, the unique combination of this technology opens up a new world of measurement capabilities.