ALTP Heat Flux Sensor

The Atomic Layer Thermopile (ALTP) represents a new surface measurement technique that advances studies of heat transfer processes especially in unsteady and short-duration flow environments. The measurements benefit largely from its low time constant of less than one microsecond.

The ALTP was employed over a broad range of flow conditions and speeds from subsonic , incompressible flow to hypersonic Mach numbers. For example , heat transfer turbulence spectra are provided for cooling passages of gas turbine blades, and the laminar-turbulent transition process in planar and conical hypersonic boundary layers are investigated.

The ALTP sensor was developed within a German Research Foundation Grant at the Institute of Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamic, Universität Stuttgart and tested in several test facilities and flow environments.