The application of pressure- and temperature-sensitive paints to an advanced compressor

An innovative pressure-measurement technique that employs the tools of mole cular spectroscopy has been widely investigated by the aerospace community. Measurements are made via oxygen-sensitive molecules attached to the surfa ce of interest as a coating, or paint. The pressure-sensitive-paint (PSP) t echnique is now commonly used in stationary wind-tunnel tests; this paper p resents the use of this technique in advanced turbomachinery applications. New pressure- and temperature-sensitive paints (P/TSPs) have been developed for application to a state-of-the-art transonic compressor where pressures up to 1.4 atm and surface temperatures to 90 degreesC are expected for the suction surface of the first-stage rotor PSP and TSP data images have been acquired from the suction surface of the first-stage rotor at 85 percent o f the corrected design speed for the compressor near-stall condition. A com parison of experimental results with CFD calculations is discussed.