Date of Award

3-22-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Ronald Coutu, PhD.

Abstract

Air Force Research Lab Air Vehicles directorate performs research on hypersonic vehicles. To verify materials or designs of hypersonic vehicles, they have a need to measure strain at temperatures exceeding 700°C. Strain sensors have the ability to measure strain. Strain is the deformation of materials due to internal stresses in a material. Internal stresses occur when a material is subjected to a force. Traditional strain sensors use Piezoresistive effects to measure strain, which is temperature dependent and making them unusable at high temperatures. This paper discusses a novel strain sensing device, sensing capacitance instead of piezoresistance. The strain sensor is modeled mathematically and simulated using Coventorware?. The results are presented here, along with recommendations for future work.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GE-ENG-12-43

DTIC Accession Number

ADA558292

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