Compact Isokinetic Total Water Content Probe for Wind Tunnel Characterization

What is it about?

This paper summarises the development and validation of a total water content probe capable of characterising both liquid and ice. The sampling head is small enough to be traversed in a cascade rig sized wind tunnel. It has been tested up to nearly 50,000 feet pressure altitude and Mach 0.8. The underlying technology is similiar to that used in the flight version of the IKP.

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Why is it important?

The accurate characterisation of liquid and ice content in wind tunnels is critical for certification testing of probes and engines. In addition accurate assesment of the TWC is required to investigate the physics behind ice accretion in engines and on probes. The probe presented in this paper allows the accurate determination of water content in wind tunnels.