DirectShear™ Sensors, the first and only microsensors to directly measure shear stress, are now available at an all-time low price.   With the product line now well established, and the recent launch of two all-new form factors, IC2 is now able to offer all of our DirectShear Sensors at their lowest prices ever.  Originally developed for NASA, the sensors are ideal for precise shear-stress measurements in wind-tunnel applications.

Building on two decades of research and testing, IC2’s DirectShear Sensors measure wall shear stress directly to deliver an unprecedented degree of precision and accuracy for both mean and fluctuating measurements with exceptional bandwidth and dynamic range.

DirectShear Sensors combine a micromachined capacitive shear stress sensor head with a Capacitive Sensor Unit to enable both mean and fluctuating measurements.  The new Capacitive Sensor Units feature cost-saving designs, while still maintaining top performance, and are now available in both a rack-mountable standalone unit and a CompactPCI^® module. Multi-channel units are also available in both form factors.

With this latest advancement in the technology, DirectShear Sensors are now offered at up to 40% off the original asking price. Complete systems are available now for $6,190 (with CompactPCI^® module) and $8,990 (with standalone unit).  Academic discounts are also available. 

The Technology and its Benefits

DirectShear Sensors are robust, high-bandwidth, high-resolution, silicon-micromachined differential capacitive shear stress sensors. The sensors directly measure wall shear stress through a micromachined (MEMS) sensing head with backside contacts. DirectShear Sensors bypass the limitations of existing devices, providing non-intrusive, highly accurate, quantitative measurements with reduced uncertainty. This approach enables a number of important features and benefits, including:

• Direct capacitive transduction to ensure time-resolved, accurate measurements and remove the need for a unique calibration between heat transfer and shear stress
• Hydraulically smooth sensor with backside contacts to eliminate any disturbances to the flow
• Micromachining to enable high spatial resolution and high-performance operation, offering bandwidths up to 20 kHz and dynamic ranges up to 110 dB

A suite of sensor models and form factors is available for varying applications and requirements.

Applications

• Instrumentation-grade skin friction measurement in subsonic and transonic wind tunnels
• Fundamental scientific research – aerodynamic drag, turbulence, etc.
• Detection of flow separation
  

For more information on this product line, visit our DirectShear Sensors product page.