Capacitive Ultrasonic Transducer Development for Acoustic Anemometry on Mars
Abstract
Previous Mars missions have used either mechanical or thermal anemometry techniques. The moving parts of mechanical anemometers are prone to damage during launch and landing and their inertia makes them unsuited for turbulence studies. Thermal anemometers have been used successfully on Mars but are difficult to calibrate and susceptible to varying ambient temperatures. In ultrasonic anemometry, wind speed and sound speed are calculated from two-way time-of-flight measurements between pairs of transducers; three pairs of transducers are used to return a 3-D wind vector. These high-frequency measurements are highly reliable and immune from drift. Piezo-electric ultrasonic anemometers are widely used on Earth due to their full-range accuracy and high measurement frequency. However these transducers have high acoustic impedances and would not work on Mars. We are developing low-mass capacitive ultrasonic transducers for Mars missions which have significantly lower acoustic impedances and would therefore have a much stronger coupling to the Martian atmosphere. These transducers consist of a metallised polymer film pulled taught against a machined metal backplane. The film is drawn towards the backplane by a DC bias voltage. A varying signal is used on top of the DC bias to oscillate the film; generating acoustic waves. This poster will look at the operation of such sensors and the developments necessary to operate the devices under Martian conditions. Transducer performance is determined primarily by two elements; the front film and the backplane. The sensitivity of the transducer is affected by the thickness of the front film; as well as the diameter, curvature and roughness of the metal backplane. We present data on the performance of the sensors and instrument design considerations including signal shapes and transducer arrangements.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #44
- Pub Date:
- October 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012DPS....4421523L