Data acquisition and processing algorithm for total and static pressure measurement system

Measurement of static and total pressure is widely used to determine the flight conditions of aircrafts. Results of pressure measurements are used to monitor flight attitude, equivalent speed, Mach number, vertical velocity, etc. A variety of systems for monitoring of aircraft flight parameters based on different working principles exists today. The main objective of the study was to develop an improved design of an optical pressure sensor and algorithm for data acquisition and processing. The working principle of the developed optical pressure sensor is based on determination of the light spots position on the surface of photodetector array. The light spots are formed by radiation from light emitting diodes passing through the slotted shutter. The shutter is fixed to the elastic membrane which is displaced by pressure change. The obtained data is then processed by the microcontroller. The developed data acquisition and processing algorithm is based on the centroid-method. It allows to obtain the averaged result from n data points in one sequential poll of the photodetector array (where n is the number of slots in the shutter) increasing measurement accuracy. If the maximum measurement speed is required, the developed algorithm allows measuring the position of only a certain light spot thus increasing the measurement speed. The improved design together with the developed data processing algorithm increase speed and accuracy of measurements.