Thin Film Sensor for Ultra High-Temp Measurement

About this technology

Overview

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a thin film sensor that measures temperatures up to 1200 F, and whose prototype successor may achieve measurements up to ~3000 F – which was the surface temperature of the Space Shuttle during its atmospheric reentry. The novel sensor design also quells the deleterious effects of thermal expansion mismatch between the thermal protection system (TPS) material comprised in the spacecraft’s outer shell, and the embedded thin film sensors’ component materials. Current methods that capture temperature data from the surface of a reentering spacecraft typically rely upon the use of low frequency thermocouples embedded in the spacecraft’s TPS and are limited to ~700 F. However, these thermocouples lack the high frequency response required for anything but low frequency temperature or heat flux. This novel thin-film temperature sensor, also embedded as an in-situ device in the through-thickness of a spacecraft’s TPS, is designed to solve these issues by capturing data at an extremely high frequency rate (>1MHz). This technology may prove extremely useful in a burgeoning commercial aerospace industry where the ability to measure temperature from the surface of a reentering spacecraft can be used to enhance performance and safety. The thin film temperature sensor may also have commercial applications in hypersonic aircraft, energy production, metallurgical blast furnaces, and other extreme high enthalpy environments.