THE EQUILIBRIUM TEMPERATURE PROBE, A DEVICE FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURES IN HYPERSONIC BOUNDARY LAYERS

摘要

The equilibrium temperature probe is a device which may be used to determine the flow temperature in a hypersonic boundary layer. It consists of a sharp, small angled cone of low emissivity metal supported by a thermal insulator. A thermocouple is installed to measure the cone temperature. The cone is held with its axis parallel to the flow. Ideally, the indicated temperature is the adiabatic wall temperature, a property of the flow which when combined with other more easily obtained properties and established relationships provides sufficient information to determine the total temperature of the flow.