ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics - Vol.

5
Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1278

DESIGNANDDEVELOPMENTOFAWIRELESSPITOTTUBEFOR
UTILIZATIONINFLIGHTTEST

IgorMachadoMalaquias,imalaquias@yahoo.com.brAntonioRafaeldaSilvaFilho,arafael@ufmg.br

PauloHenriquesIscoldAndradedeOliveira,iscold@ufmg.br

UniversidadeFederaldeMinasGeraisDepartamentodeEngenhariaMecnicaAvAntonioCarlos,6627PampulhaBeloHorizonte
MinasGeraisBrasil,CEP31.270901(PPGMEC)ProgramadePsGraduaoemEngenhariaMecnica

GonaloDanielThums,goncalodt@yahoo.com.br

UniversidadeFederaldeMinasGeraisDepartamentodeEngenhariaEltricaAvAntonioCarlos,6627PampulhaBelo
HorizonteMinasGeraisBrasilCEP31.270901

Abstract.ThispaperpresentsthedesignandmanufactureofawirelessPitottubeforuseinflighttests,itisalso
presentedthemechanicaldesign,electronic,calibrationandvalidationtrialofsuchequipment.ThePitottubein
questionwasdesignedtooperatetogetherwiththedataacquisitionsystemdevelopedatCentrodeEstudos
AeronuticosatUniversidadeFederaldeMinasGerais(CEAFDASFlightDataAquisitionSystem).CEAFDASis
alowcostdataacquisitionsystemforuseinflighttests,whichcanbecoupledtoseveralsensors/devices.Oneofthese
devices,asinconventionalflighttestsystemconsistsofaPitottubewithfoursensors,whichinmostcasesmustbe
installedonthewingtipoftheaircraft,withtheacquisitionofstaticanddynamicpressure,andevenasetoftwoflagsto
determinetheanglesofattackandsideslip.ThefactthatthePitottubeinquestionhasnowirestoconnectwiththedata
acquisitionsystemisitsbestadvantagewhencomparedtoitspeers,whatmakestheinstallationprocessverysimple
andfastinadditionitiscompatiblewithanytypeofaircraftbysimplyprovidingtheattachmentmeanstothisstructure.
Therefore,thereisnoneedforinstallingcablesandhosesontheoutsideorinsideofthewingsoftheaircraft,asit
shouldbedoneinaconventionalPitottube,whatcanoftenaffecttheaerodynamicsofaircraft.Thesystemisdivided
intothreeparts,thePitottubeitself,wherethesensorsareinstalled,thesamplingcircuit(microcontrollerandA/D
converter)andthetransmitter.Insidetheaircraftisthesecondpartofthesystemwhichcomprehendsthereceiver,
microcontrollerandD/Aconverter,thisoneisresponsibleforprovidingfourindependentanalogoutputs,andeach
oneofthemhasavalueofDCvoltageproportionaltothequantitymeasured.Theseoutputsarethenconnectedtothe
CEAFDASdataacquisitionsysteminputs.Thus,itispossibletoknowtheinformationsaboutthestaticanddynamic
pressures,andanglesofattackandsideslip.

Keywords:Pitottube,Flighttest,DataAcquisition

1.INTRODUCTION

Thispaperpresentsthedesign,developmentandmanufactureofawirelessPitottubetobeusedinflighttests.Thistube
willbeusedtomeasurethespeed,staticpressure(todeterminethealtitude)andalsotheanglesofattackandsideslipof
theaircraft.ThePitottubewillworktogetherwithadataacquisitionsystemcalledCEAFDAS(FlightDataAcquisition
System)thatisanacquisitionsystemdevelopedatCEACentrodeEstudosAeronuticos(CenterofAeronautical
Studies),fromUniversidadeFederaldeMinasGerais(Oliveira,2008).

ThePitottubeisaninstrumentdevelopedbytheFrenchphysicistHenriPitot,intheeighteenthcenturytomeasurethe
speedofthefluidflow(Anderson,1991).Itsworkingprincipleisbasedonpressuresensors(whichmaybeasimple
columnmanometer,oradigitalsensor)thatmeasurestaticandtotalpressureofafluidinmotion.Throughthe
differencesbetweenthesetwopressuresitispossibletodeterminethedynamicpressureofflowandthencalculateits
speedaccordingtoequation(1).

V
2.P
(1)

Whererepresentsthedensityofthefluid,andPthedifferencebetweenthestaticandtotalpressures(dynamic

pressure).Foradensityinkg/mandapressureinPa,respectively,wegettothespeedinm/s.

ThePitottubehasnowadaysawideapplicationspeciallyintheaeronauticsfield,beingthemainwaytomeasurethe
airspeedofanaircraftflying.

AmajorproblemoftheutilizationofthePitottubeinanaircraftisitsinstallation.Ingeneral,theequipmentmustbe
installedatthewingtipoftheaircraft,andtheacquisitionsystemanddataprocessingisinitsinterior.Therefore,itis
requiredtoestablishanyhowthecommunicationbetweenthem.

ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics - Vol. 5

Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1279

InaconventionalPitottube,thiscommunicationismadethroughtubes(pressurelines)orwires,withtheelectrical
signalsfromthedetectors.However,thereisalwaysadifficultyintheinstallationoftheequipment,becausenotallthe
timeonehasaccesstotheinteriorofthewingtoinstallthecablesand,veryoftentheinstallationofthetubesandcables
ontheoutsideofthewing,whennotpredictedindesign,canbedangeroustotheflightandevenreducestheoperational
safetyoftheaircraft.

Forthisreason,aPitottubethatcancommunicatetothedataprocessingcentralthroughawirelessnetwork,isof
extremeimportance,largelybyfacilitatingtheinstallationofthetubeatthewingtiporatanyotherpartoftheaircraft.
Furthermore,itmakestheproceduresafer.Becauseofthosefacts,itwaschosentomanufactureawirelessPitottube
thatattendedtotheoperationneedsoftheflighttestatCEA.

Inthenexttopics,itwillbepresentedthemechanicalandelectronicdesignoftheequipment,thecalibrationprocedure,
andanexampleofitsapplicationinaflighttest.

2.THEPITOTTUBEPROJECT

ThefabricationofthepressuresensorsprobeofaPitottubemustfollowsomerulessothatthemeasurementscanbe
trusted.ThePitottubeiscomposedofitsprobes;oneofthemisforthestaticpressuretakingatitsthesidesandanother
fortakingthetotalflowpressure(orstagnationpressure)locatedattheendofthetube.Theshapeoftheairtakings(in
relationtotheinput)andthepositionmustbestudied.ThePitottubeproposedhasalsotwoflagslocatedonitssidesat
90degreesonefromanother,toberesponsibleforthedeterminationoftheincidentflowdegreeonthePitottube.
Next,thereisabriefdescriptionaboutthedesignofeachpartofthePitottube.

2.1.Totalpressuretaking

ThegeometricshapeofthefrontalairtakingofthePitottube(totalpressuretaking),influencesdirectlythetubes
errorssensitivityrelatedtotheitsnonalignmentwiththeflow.SincethedesignedPitotmustworkinanairplane,
wherethereisincidenceofaflownotalignedwiththetube,itisnecessarytoexaminethiseffect.

Benedict(1984)presentsastudyonthetipshapeofthePitottubeanditsinfluenceonerrorduetothisalignment,
Figure1.Therefore,itwaschosenforthePitotconcernedtheshapeindicatedbyafilledtriangle,forabalancebetween
qualityandeaseconstruction.

Figure1Influenceoftheshapeinthetotalpressuretaking

2.2.StaticPressuretaking

Whentakingthestaticpressurethereisalsoaconcernaboutthecorrectinstallationoftheequipmenttominimizethe
errorsinthesystem.Benedict(1984)recommendsthatthetakingsbedistributedalongalineacrossthetubefacesothat
theaveragepressureinthecenterbecomesequaltotheflowincaseofmisalignment,andthetakingspositionsalong

thetubelongitudinallyshouldbeacommitmenttothereductionnoseeffectandstemeffect,Figure2.Therelation
chosenwasxs=xh=4D,becauseitwasrequiredthattherewasacommitmentbetweenthereductionofthe

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Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1280

measurementerrors,sufficienttubediameterfortheinstallationofthesensors,andthecompactnessofthesystemasa
whole.

Figure2Influenceofthetotalpressuretaking

2.3.Flowdirectionflag

Theflagsusedtomeasurethedirectionoftheincidentflowofthetubewereinstalledonitssides,aftertakingthestatic
pressure,inasectionwhereitwasneededtoincreasethediameterofthetubeforthepositionsensorsinstallationof
eachflag.Thetwoflagswereinstalledeachonebisupportedintwominibearingssotheycouldspinfreelyfollowing
thedirectionoftheflow.

2.4.Finalaspectoftheinstrument

Figure3showsatridimensionalmodelwiththefinalaspectofthePitottube.Agreatpartoftheconstantsectionatthe
endofthemechanismcanbeobserved.Thispartisrequiredtocomprehendalltheelectronicapparatusanddata
transmissionsystemthatwillbedescribedlater.

5
2

Figure3.SketchofthemanufacturedPitottube
4

Theindicationsrepresent:

Totalpressuretaking.

Staticpressuretaking.

Flagfordetermingtheflowdirection.

Coverstogiveaccesstothebearingandsensorsoftheflags.

Sectionforconditioningtheelectronicapparatus.

ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics - Vol. 5

Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1281

Figure4showsthePitottubecompletelyfinishedonthesupportusedforcalibrationinthewindtunnel.

Figure4.FinalaspectofthePitottube

3.ELECTRONICSYSTEM

ThewirelesselectronicpartofthePitotstubeisdividedintotwodistinctparts,thesamplingandtransmissioncircuit,
locatedwithinthePitottube,andthereceptionunit.

InsidethePitottubetherearethestaticanddynamicpressuresensors,andtheHallEffectsensorswhichareresponsible
fordetectingtheattackandsideslipanglesoftheflagsoftheaircraft.Moreover,inthispartofthesystemareinstalled
signalsamplingcircuitsandthetransceiver,actingasatransmitter.

Atthereceptionunit,installedinsidetheaircraft,thereisanothertransceiver,inthiscase,actingasreceptor,andthe
D/Aconvertercircuits.

Therefore,inthePitottube,thesignalscomingfromthesensorsaresampledandsentthroughaserialcommunication,
intextformat,toatransmittermodulethattransmitsitthrougharadiofrequencylink,i.e.,wirelessly,tothereception
unit.Inthisunit,theserialformatreceivedsignisconvertedtothestandardSPI1andsenttotheD/Aconverter.Once
reconstructed,theanalogicalsignalsofeachsensoraresenttothedataacquisitionsystem,theCEAFDAS,usingfour
independentchannels.

Figure5showsthegeneraldiagram,inblocks,ofthewholesystem.

Figure5.Generaldiagramofthesystem

Inthenextsection,moredetailsaboutthetransmitterandthereceptionunitarepresented.

3.1.Thetransmitter

InthePitottubeareinstalledtwoHallEffectsensors,modelA3515producedbyAllegroMicrosystems(Allegro,2011)
thatconvertsthepositionoftheattackandsideslipanglesoftheflagsintoDCsignalsandwhichvalueis

SPISerialPeripheralInterface

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Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1282

proportionaltothepositionsofthem.Tomeasurethedynamicpressure,itisusedthepressuresensorMPXV5004of
FreescaleSemiconductor,whichalsohasananalogicaloutput.Hence,thesignalsfromtheHallEffectsensorsand
dynamicpressuresensorsareconnectedtothreeA/Dconvertersinthesamplingmicrocontroller.

Tomeasurethestaticpressure,itisusedapressuresensorSCP1000ofVTITechnologies.Thissensor,inoppositionto
therest,hasastandardSPIdigitaloutput,andthusbeingconnectedtothemicrocontrollerthroughitsSPIport.

Thechoiceofthemicrocontroller,inthiscase,thePIC16F88fromMicrochip,wasmadeaccordingtotheavailable
peripheralsofit.Inthissituation,theyweretheanalogicalsignalsinputs(A/Dconverters),standardSPIportandserial
communicationportstandardRS232(USART).

Themicrocontroller,inadditionaltoperformingtheanalogicalsignalssampling,alsohasthefunctiontoconvertthe
sampledinformationsintotextformatandsendthemtotheradiotransmitter,thisonewillsendthedatatothereceptor
insidetheaircraft.Thediagraminblocksofthetransmitterispresentedinfigure6.Figure7showsthefinalaspectof
thedatatransmittercircuitthatisinstalledonthelargerdiametertubeatthebackofthetube.

Figure6Transmitterdiagram

Figure7.Pitotsinternaltransmittersystem(withoutthebattery)

ArechargeablebatteryNiCdwithcapacityof600mAhandnominalvoltage9,6VisusedtopowerthePitottube.With
thisbattery,itwasreachedarangeofapproximatelyonehourandthirtyminutesforthesystem,accordingtothebattery
dischargecurveinFigure8.ThiscurvewasobtainedwiththeloadcircuitofthePitottube,i.e.,arealloadingsituation.

3.2.Thereceptor

Thereceiverunitiscomposedbyatransmitter,actingasareceiver,thatreceivesthedatathroughthewirelessinterface
andletthedataavailableatanotherinterfaceoutputinthestandardRS232.Theavailabledata,intextformat,

ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics - Vol. 5

Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
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Page 1283

aresenttothemicrocontroller,PIC16F877alsoofMicrochip,wheretheyareconvertedtostandardSPIandsenttothe
D/Aconverter,modelDAC7554producedbyTexasInstruments.

ThechoiceofD/Aconverterwasbasedonitsresolution(numberofbitsinthiscase12bits),andthenumberofoutput
channels.

Therefore,thereceiverunitprovidesfourindependentanalogoutputs,andeachoneofthemcorrespondstoaquantity
beingmeasured.Theseoutputsarethenconnectedtothedataacquisitionsysteminputs,CEAFDAS.

Figure9showsthediagraminblocksofthereceiverunit,whereasinFigure10itispresentedapicturewiththe
conditioningaspectofthisreceiversystem.

11

10

Volts[V]
9

6
20
40
60
80
100
120

Time[min]

Figure8.DischargecurveBatteryNiCd9.6V600mAhT=21C

Figure9.Diagraminblocksofthereceiverunit

Figure10.Aspectofthereceiver

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Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1284

Regardingthepowerofthereceiverunit,itisprovidedbytheCEAFDASitself.CEAFDAScanhaveitsownbattery
oritcanbepoweredbytheaircraftspowercircuits.

4.CALIBRATIONOFTHESYSTEM

Thesystemscalibrationwasdividedintotwoparts,awindtunnel,wheretheflagsoftheflowdirectionmeasurements
werecalibrated,andanotherattheoutsideofthewindtunnel,wherethestaticanddynamicpressuresensorswere
calibratedindependently.

Thisseparationisduetothefactthattheavailablewindtunnelissmall,reachingspeedsofupto25m/s,andnotbeing
possibleagreatreductioninthestaticpressureandobtainhighspeeds.Thisfactmadeimpossiblethecalibrationofthe
pressuresensorsinsidethewindtunnel,becauseitcouldnotachievethespeedrangesandstaticpressurerequiredinside
thePitottube.

ThetunnelinuseisasmallteachingtunnelatUniversidadeFederaldeMinasGerais(Filho,2005).Figure11presentsa
Pitottubemountedinsidethetunnelforcalibration,whereitalsocanbeobservedasecondPitottube,responsiblefor
measuringthetunnelflow.

Insequence,itismadeabriefdescriptionofeachstageofthecalibration.Inthecalibrationprocedureitissupposedto
obtainacurvethatrelatestheoutputsignaloftheacquisitionsystemwiththephysicalquantitymeasuredbythe
instrument.

TunnelsPitottube

Figure11.Pitottubemountedinsidethewindtunnel

4.1.Calibrationofthestaticandtotalpressureprobes.

Asdescribedpreviously,duetolowcapacityofthewindtunnel,theerrorsinthestaticandtotalpressuretakingsofthe
Pitottubewereonlyverifiedforlowspeeds(atthepossibleprocedureinthetunnel).Becauseofthat,thedataofthe
PitottestwerecomparedtothedataofthePitotofthetunnel.ThepressuremeasurementwasperformedusinganU
tubemanometer,andthecomparisonbetweenthetwoPitotindicatedthattheerrorsintheoperatingrangeofthetunnel
werelessthan1%.

4.2.Calibrationoftheflags

Thewindtunnelwasusedforthecalibrationoftheflags,wherethereisaspinningandgraduatedtable.Whenthe
tunnelisatwork,itispossibletospinthePitottubeinsideofitsotheflagsremainalignedwiththeflow.

Sincethetableisgraduated,itispossibletoknowthepositionofthePitottubeinrelationtotheflowand,throughthe
outputsignaloftheacquisitionsystem,tracethecurverelatingtheoutputsignal,andtheangleofeachflaginrelationto
theflow.

Duetothelimitationsofphysicalspaceinthetunnel,thecalibrationlimitsforeachoftheflagswerefrom30to+30
degrees,valuesthataresufficientfortheoperatingrangeofangleofattackandsideslipofanaircraft.

Figure12presentsanexampleofthecalibrationcurveofoneoftheflags,thepolynomialfitchosenisindicatedinthe
chart.

ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics - Vol. 5

Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1285

40

30

Measure

FitCurve

20

[dig]
10

Value

10

20

y=1.6e008*x 0.0001*x +0.16*x28

30

40
1800
2000
2200

2400
2600
2800

1600

Dig

Figure12.Calibrationcurveofoneflag

4.3.Calibrationofthepressuresensors

ForthecalibrationofthepressuresensorsitwasusedUtubemanometer,andtheapplicationofpressureinthesensors
wasperformedusingasurgicalsyringe.Thiswayitcouldbeappliedacertainamountofpressuretothesensorsand
throughtheUtube,identifythevalueofappliedpressure,then,knowingtheresponsesignaloftheacquisitionsystem,
determinethecalibrationofthesensors.

Figure13showstheapparatususedforthecalibrationofpressuresensors,andinFigure14,thereistheexampleofthe
calibrationcurveofoneofthesensors,here,thestaticpressuresensor.Inthegraphtherearealsothecoefficientsofthe
polynomialfitchosenforthecurve.

Figure13.Schemeforthecalibrationofthepressuresensors

9.1

x10

Measure

8.9

FitCurva

8.8

[Pa]
8.7

Pressure

8.6

y=16*x+9.8e+004

8.5

8.4

8.3

8.2
550
600
650

700
750
800
850
900
950
1000

500

Dig

Figure14.Calibrationcurveofthestaticpressuresensor

ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics - Vol. 5

Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1286

5.APPLICATION

ThewirelessPitottubeatCEAhasbeenappliedsuccessfullyinseveralflighttestoperationsatCentrodeEstudos
Aeronuticos(CenterforAeronauticalStudies)atUFMG.SomehighlightsofCEAare:i)testingofequipmentandflight
testclassesontheUFMGsCurumimaircraft.ii)testingofaircraftCEA309,producedinacrobaticUFMG,ii)testing
theP1glider,producedinITA,iv)testingtheaircraftACS100Sora,v)testingtheaircraftK51Peregrino.

Figure15presentsasetofdataobtainedfromthePitotflighttestaircraftACS100Sora.Inthisgraph,itcanbeseenthe
altitudedata(fromthestaticpressureprobe),speedandanglesofattackandsideslip.Allofthemobtainedfromthe
wirelessPitottubedeveloped.Thepresenteddatareferonlytoonelaneshiftoftheaircraft,andyetarenottreated.They
arepresentedhereonlyasanexample.

Pdyn[Pa]

4000

2000

0
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
750

300

Pstac[Pa]

9 x 10

8.8

8.6
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
750

300

Alfa[deg]

20

10

0
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
750

300

Beta[deg]

20

-20
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
750

300

Time [sec]

Figure15.ExampleofdataofACS100Sora

6.CONCLUSION

InthispaperitwasdescribedthedesignanddevelopmentofaPitottubeforuseinwirelessflighttests.Thestudy
highlightsitsgreatadvantage,especiallyhavinginmindtheoperationwithoutwiresandhoses,facilitatingits
installationontheaircraft.

Itwaspresentedthedevelopmentoftheprobesofthetotalandstatictaking,themeasuringflagsoftheincidentdirection
oftheflow,andtheentireprocessingsystem,anddatasendingtothedataacquisitionsystem.

ThesystemhasbeenofgreatuseinproceduresforflighttestsoftheCEAsaircrafts,anditiswidelyapplied
successfullyintheseoperationsandproducesconsistentandreliableresults.

7.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TheauthorswouldliketoacknowledgeFAPEMIG(FundaodeAmparoPesquisadoEstadodeMinasGerais)forthe
financialsupportduringtheProject.
TheauthorswouldalsoliketoacknowlegdeLarissaCristinadeCamargoforhelpingtoelaboratethispaper.

8.REFERENCES

Allegro.2011http://www.allegromicro.com/(RetrievedJanuary2011)

Anderson,J.D.Jr.1991.FundamentalofAerodynamicsMcGrawHillSeriesinAeronauticalandAerospace
Engineering.SecondEdition.

BenedictP.R.1984.FundamentalsofTemperature,PressureandFlowMeasurementsThirdEdition,JohnWiley&
Sons.

Filho,A.R.S.,Oliveira,P.H.I.A.2005ProjetoeConstruodeumTneldeVentoSubsnico,DidticodePequeno
Porte.XIICongressoNacionaldeEstudantesdeEngenhariaMecnica,IlhaSolteiraSoPaulo.

ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics - Vol. 5

Section VIII - Sensors & Actuators
Copyright 2012 by ABCM
Page 1287

Oliveira,P.H.I.A.2008LowcostFlightTestSystemforLightAircrafts.AircraftEngineeringandAerospace
Technology:AnInternationalJournal.EmeraldGroupPublishingLimited.

7.RESPONSIBILITYNOTICE

Thefollowingtext,properlyadaptedtothenumberofauthors,mustbeincludedinthelastsectionofthepaper:The
author(s)is(are)theonlyresponsiblefortheprintedmaterialincludedinthispaper.