Ultra Harsh Environment Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) Sensor for Hypersonic Test Facilities

The YSZ Environment Sensing (YES) sensor is an electrochemical sensor that offers temperature, oxygen concentration and pressure measurement solution in ultra-harsh environments common in hypersonic ground test facilities. Its key component is the yttria-stabilized zirconia, which has a history of being utilized as a thermal barrier coating for jet engines, will survive elevated temperatures beyond 2500°C (4500°F) without internal cooling mechanisms compared to conventional water-cooled instrumentation and probes installed in these test facilities. In Phase I, our team has developed preliminary YES sensors using bulk YSZ and platinum that have demonstrated reliable temperature measurements up to 1200°C (2200°F) and oxygen concentrations up to 30% O2. Our proposed Phase II will continue to develop and refine the design and fabrication of the Phase I bulk YES sensors. To expand the sensor applicability, our team will also develop thin-film deposition techniques to create a thin-film YES sensor and investigate next generation electrodes that will survive up to and beyond 2200°C (4000°F). Phase II will also propose a design, fabrication and packaging effort to create a standalone sensor that can be installed into existing or newly fabricated hypersonic test hardware.