The measurement of transient stagnation pressure in impulse facilities, such as shock tubes and expansion tubes, is critical due to the limited experimental time window. In the present study, we investigate the characteristic behavior of pressure sensors shielded by blunt and conical housings, and evaluate the specific influence of the housing dimensions on the stagnation pressure measurement in distinct flow conditions. Pressure signals of piezoelectric sensors were acquired and schlieren images visualizing the wave dynamics were recorded. We conducted additional numerical simulations to support our hypotheses concerning the flow inside the housings. Results indicate that the pressure signal for conical housings exhibits longer rise time and more pronounced oscillations compared to that for blunt housings. Enlarging the borehole diameter and reducing the cavity depth both shorten signal rise time but enhance overshoots. Additional experiments on the sensitivity to assembly misalignment, the effect of gelatin-filled housings and the performance of exposed sensors complete the study. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.     «

The measurement of transient stagnation pressure in impulse facilities, such as shock tubes and expansion tubes, is critical due to the limited experimental time window. In the present study, we investigate the characteristic behavior of pressure sensors shielded by blunt and conical housings, and evaluate the specific influence of the housing dimensions on the stagnation pressure measurement in distinct flow conditions. Pressure signals of piezoelectric sensors were acquired and schlieren image...     »