Heat flux sensor calibration using noninteger system identification: Theory, experiment, and error analysis

This paper concerns the improvement of the calibration technique of null point calorimeters generally used in high enthalpy plasma flows. Based on the linearity assumption, this technique leads to calculate the impulse response that relates the heat flux at the tip of the sensor according to the temperature at the embedded thermocouple close to the heated surface. The noninteger system identification (NISI) procedure is applied. The NISI technique had been well described in previous study. The present work focuses on the accuracy of the identified system in terms of absorbed heat flux during the calibration experiment and of the estimated parameters in the model. The impulse response is thus calculated along with its associated standard deviation. Furthermore, this response is compared with that of the one-dimensional semi-infinite medium, which is classically used in practical applications. The asymptotic behavior of the identified system at the short times is analyzed for a better understanding of the noninteger identified system. Finally, the technique was applied to a new sensor geometry that has been developed particularly for high enthalpy plasma flows and it is shown that the method can be applied to any geometry suitable for a certain test configuration.