Description of a Pressure Measurement Technique for Obtaining Surface Static Pressures of a Radial Turbine

The aerodynamic performance of a solid uncooled version of a cooled radial turbine was evaluated in the Small Engine Components Test Facility Turbine rig at the NASA Lewis Research Center. Specifically, an experiment was conducted to rotor surface static pressures. This was the first time surface static pressures had been measured on a radial turbine at NASA Lewis. These pressures were measured by a modified Rotating Data Package (RDP), a standard product manufactured by Scanivalve, Inc. Described here are the RDP, and the modifications that were made, as well as the checkout, installation, and testing procedures. The data presented are compared to analytical results obtained from NASA's MERIDL TSONIC BLAYER (MTSB) code.