Evaluating the Utility of Pressure Scanners for Unsteady Pressure Measurements in Wind Tunnel Characterization of the Space Launch System

View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-3666.vid In many aerodynamic measurement applications, the ability to make time-accurate measurements with pressure scanners provides practical advantages over making the same measurements directly using flush-mounted transducers. However, the pneumatic distortion due to the tubing between the sensing module and surface port limits the usefulness of such measurements to averaged, steady data only. This issue has restricted the application of pressure scanners for unsteady pressure measurements in the wind tunnel and flight-testing applications. The Wiener-filtered inverse system response model has been proven effective in reconstructing complex unsteady pressure signals acquired remotely using pressure scanners. The unparalleled long-term thermal stability, flexibility and robustness that pressure scanners provide in wind-tunnel and flight-testing applications, combined with an ability to reconstruct the unsteady components of the measured pressure signals, could enable their use in modern applications involving dynamic flow fields and highly separated flows. This work evaluated the feasibility of using pressure scanning systems for time-resolved pressure measurements in the NASA Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel. Results demonstrated good agreement between the reference transducers and reconstructed pressure scanner measurements up to frequencies of approximately 500 Hz.