Preliminary Testing of a MEMS-based Shear Stress Sensor for High Speed Flow Applications

Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) are an enabling technology that has led to various miniature sensor concepts. One such sensor concept is a shear stress sensor that can operate over a wide dynamic range, and at very high temperatures, with an application emphasis on ground and flight testing in supersonic and hypersonic flow. In this paper we present our research and development efforts for a MEMS-based shear stress sensor that can be used to directly measure the shear stress on ground based articles tested in high speed tunnels, and eventually on flight-test articles. Preliminary data showing sensor operation in high subsonic flow is presented and discussed.