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Numerical and experimental characterisation of an aeronautic Pitot probe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2019

R. Jäckel ,
G.L. Gutiérrez Urueta Open the ORCID record for G.L. Gutiérrez Urueta [Opens in a new window] ,
F. Tapia Rodríguez  and
C. Monreal Jiménez
R. Jäckel
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
G.L. Gutiérrez Urueta*
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
F. Tapia Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Panamericana, Zapopan, Jalisco, México
C. Monreal Jiménez
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosé, México
*
geydy.gutierrez@uaslp.mx
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Abstract

Aeronautic Pitot probes (PPs) are extremely important for airspeed and altitude measurements in aviation. Failure of the instrument due to clogging caused by ice formation can lead to dangerous situations. In this work, a commercial aeronautic PP was characterised experimentally regarding its inner composition, material properties and its thermal performance in a climatic wind tunnel. Performance runs were taken out in order to analyse the thermal response of the PP under various operating conditions with a particular emphasis on the cooling process in the case of a heating element failure. Data for the thermal conductivity, diffusivity and specific heat for each material forming the PP were obtained. A numerical model to simulate the thermal behaviour of the PP was created using Comsol Multiphysics (CM). Experimental data were compared with their numerical counterparts for model validation purposes. After the model was validated, the operation of the PP in flight conditions was simulated. The failure of the conventional heating system was analysed to obtain the time until the PP reaches a tip temperature where ice formation can be expected. The tip temperature undercut the zero degrees Celsius mark 165 seconds after the heating element was switched off. The data collected in this work can be used to implement and validate mathematical models in order to predict the thermal performance of Pitot probes in flight conditions.

Keywords

Aeronautic Pitot probeInfrared Thermography (IR) ThermographyHeating elementAircraft icingClimatic Wind Tunnel
Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 123 , Issue 1264 , June 2019 , pp. 890 - 911
Copyright
© Royal Aeronautical Society 2019 

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