Integral airfoil total temperature sensor

Abstract

An air data sensing probe adapted for mounting to an aerodynamically-shaped airfoil or strut attached to an air vehicle. An inlet port located near the leading edge of the strut admits fluid, to a first cavity and then, in turn, to a second cavity, so that the total temperature of the fluid may be measured and a signal related thereto conveyed to suitable flight control gear. A first exhaust port located generally opposite the inlet port allows entrained particles to exit the probe and boundary layer fluid evacuation apertures formed through the strut across the interface between the two cavities permit only a substantially particle-free core sample of fluid on the temperature sensing element. The secondary cavity couples to the primary cavity at an angle so that inertial separation of entrained particles results. In a second embodiment, the air data sensing probe connects to a barrel-shaped probe head so that multiple parameters related to the fluid can be measured, such as total pressure, Pt, static pressure, Ps, and total temperature, Tt, of a fluid flowing relative to the air vehicle as well as angle-of-attack (AOA) of the air vehicle relative to the fluid.