A Miniature Transducer for Measuring Low Transient Pressures

Abstract
Miniature pressure transducers which are suitable for measuring pressures on models placed in rarefied shock tunnel flows are described. Special attention is given to the problems of mechanical vibration, convective heating, and miniaturization. It is shown that by using a matched pair of piezoelectric crystals in conjunction with special first‐stage circuitry a pressure transducer can be built which, for example, is 5.1 mm in diameter and has the following characteristics: (1) a pressure sensitivity of 1.64 mV/Torr, (2) an acceleration sensitivity of less than 0.0425 mV/g at frequencies up to 200 Hz, and (3) a negligible response to heat flux rates up to 1.33 Δp MW/m2, where Δp is the measured pressure increment in units of torricelli.
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