Expert: Paul Soderman - 3/6/2002

Question
I'm not sure that you can help me, but maybe you can point me in the correct direction.  Im doing research on jet flow interactions in a wind tunnel.  I use this special Pressure Sensative Paint to provide me with a picture of wind on/wind off light intensities and pressure distribution.  The calibration for the paint is not low enough, so I have been asked to do an in situ calibration.  Most of the resources I have found only provide specifics on the calibration of other experiments and not a general procedure. I plotted the intensity ratio verses the pressure.  Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou.

Answer
If you contact Dr James Bell at NASA Ames Research Center ( jhbell@mail.arc.nasa.gov, 650-604-4142), he should be able to help you.  His research group has pioneered the use of Pressure Sensitive Paint and have various calibration schemes.  I know little about the subject, but have heard James describe their calibration procedures, which are an important part of the technology.