A single-shot, lifetime-based pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technique is proposed as a pressure sensor for applications requiring high pressure sensitivity on a moving model such as a rotor blade. The method is based on a single pulse of high-energy excitation light and a double-frame exposure on an interline transfer charge-coupled device camera for recording luminescent lifetime. Small pressures can be measured on surfaces that are moving in an aperiodic manner (which precludes phase averaging). Measurements in environments having overall surface pressure gradients as small as 1 kPa show that the technique is capable of accurately resolving small pressure fluctuations. The pressure sensitivity to the oxygen concentration of some commonly available PSP formulations has been investigated with respect to capabilities and limitations of the paints for this single-shot lifetime application. A system with ruthenium-based pressure-sensitive paint, 532 nm wavelength laser and a CCD camera is demonstrated on a 0.126 m diameter propeller rotating at 70 Hz. Pressure data are acquired within a single pulse of excitation light energy, with no image averaging required.

A pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) system capable of measuring the global, unsteady pressure distribution on a rotating surface without resorting to phase averaging is applied to a two-bladed model propeller in edgewise freestream flow. A gated lifetime-based technique captures the paint luminescence after a single pulse of high-energy laser excitation, yielding a signal-to-noise ratio sufficient to avoid image averaging. The selection of a porous polymer/ceramic matrix base with platinum tetra(pentafluorophenyl) porphyrin (PtTFPP) as the luminophore afforded high frequency response and pressure sensitivity, but the long lifetime of PtTFPP caused blurring in the long-exposure image of the rotating blade. An approach to deblurring based on the lifetime of the paint and surface motion is described and validated by results obtained from a disc of 17.8 cm diameter spinning at 70 Hz. An infrared camera recorded wind-on and -off temperature maps to provide a temperature correction for the PSP. The single-shot PSP technique with motion deblurring and temperature correction is then applied to a vertically mounted model propeller with a 25.4 cm diameter and 10.2 cm pitch. Surface pressure maps for the advancing and retreating blades are presented for a spin rate of 70 Hz and advance ratio of 0.3. The higher suction peak and other features on the advancing blade due to its larger effective velocity are detected by the paint system, while the retreating blade shows a qualitatively different distribution.

Based on the hypothesis that diabetic foot lesions have a mechanical etiology, extensive efforts have sought to establish a relationship between ulcer occurrence and plantar pressure distribution. However, these factors are still not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously record shear and pressure distributions in the heel and forefoot and to answer whether: (i) peak pressure and peak shear for anterior-posterior (AP) and medio-lateral (ML) occur at different locations, and if (ii) peak pressure is always centrally located between sites of maximum AP and ML shear stresses. A custom built system was used to collect shear and pressure data simultaneously on 11 subjects using the 2-step method. The peak pressure was found to be 362 kPa ±106 in the heel and 527 kPa ± 123 in the forefoot. In addition, the average peak shear values were higher in the forefoot than in the heel. The greatest shear on the plantar surface of the forefoot occurred in the anterior direction (mean and std dev: 37.7 ±7.6 kPa), whereas for the heel, peak shear on the foot was in the posterior direction (21.2 ±5 kPa). The results of this study suggest that the interactions of the shear forces caused greater “spreading” in the forefoot and greater tissue “dragging” in the heel. The results also showed that peak shear stresses do not occur at the same site or time as peak pressure. This may be an important factor in locating where skin breakdown occurs in patients at high-risk for ulceration.

A novel measurement approach is described which has been developed to allow both pressure and skin friction measurements at very low speeds in liquid or gaseous environments. This approach, surface stress-sensitive films, S 3 F, is based on the deformation of an elastic media and the transformation of this deformation into surface loads (pressure and shear stresses). Measurements in both air and water flows have been made. A comparative analysis of the S 3 F and PSP techniques for a low-speed air-flow case is presented.

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