Luminescent intensity enhancement of pressure-sensitive paint by optimization of mole fraction of oxygen

Pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) relates luminescent output to the partial pressure of oxygen in a gas-dynamic medium. Luminescent intensity enhancement of a PSP is directly related to the improvement of the pressure resolution of a PSP measurement. An analytical model is proposed that gives the optimum mole fraction of oxygen of a gas-dynamic medium for a given PSP. This model also gives the desired PSP sensitivity under a given mole fraction of oxygen. Experimental validation is given and compared to the proposed model. A gas-dynamic medium can be any oxygen-containing gas, and is not restricted to measurements in air. The proposed analytical model is versatile and can be applied to various gas-dynamic mediums for PSP measurements, for instance, cryogenic, microfluidic, and Mars wind tunnel applications.