Thermal stability improvement of sprayable fast-responding pressure-sensitive paint for measurement above 100?°C

The thermal stability of sprayable fast-responding Pressure-Sensitive Paint (fast PSP) was investigated to explore the possibility for application in turbomachinery and hypersonic research with temperature above 100 °C. The first part of the study focused on a widely-used Polymer Ceramic PSP (PC-PSP). The effects of thermal degradation on its key sensing properties, including luminescent intensity, pressure sensitivity and response time, were examined for a temperature range from 60 to 100 °C. Severe degradation in intensity and pressure sensitivity was found as temperature reached 70 °C or higher, which would cause failure of PSP application in these conditions. Subsequently, a fast-responding Mesoporous-Particle PSP (MP-PSP) was developed which did not show degradation effects until 140 °C. The greatly improved thermal stability of MP-PSP was attributed to: selection of polymer with higher glass transition temperature (polystyrene) to delay the saturation effect of oxygen quenching as temperature increased; porous and hollow structure of particles for luminophore deposition that minimizes polymer–luminophore interaction. This new paint formulation has significantly raised the upper temperature limit of fast PSP and offers more opportunities for applications in harsh environment.