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The Shock Tube*

A Versatile Tool Of Aerodynamic Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

B. D. Henshall
B. D. Henshall*
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Bristol: Holder of the Busk Studentship in Aeronautics
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Extract

In recent years interest has been revived in an apparatus which was first developed more than fifty years ago. This apparatus, which is known today as a shock tube, is a very useful research tool, the versatility of which is not generally appreciated in this country. In this paper the author attempts to give a clear physical description of the flow in a shock tube and a review of the problems which may be investigated by means of this apparatus.

Basically, a shock tube consists of a simple fabricated duct which may be closed or open at one end, and closed at the other end. A diaphragm divides this duct into two compartments which initially contain gases at different pressures. In a conventional shock tube the cross-section is constant, the ends are closed, and air is used on both sides of the diaphragm (Fig. 1).

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 58 , Issue 524 , August 1954, pp. 541 - 546
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1954

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Footnotes

*

Based on a paper which won the First Prize in the 1953 Junior Members Papers Competition of the Bristol Branch of the Society.

References

References

Theory:

1. Lukasciewicz, J. (1950). Shock Tube Theory and Applications. N.R.C. (Canada) Report MT-10, 1950.Google Scholar

Experiment :

2. Payman, W. and Shepherd, W. C. F. (1946). Explosion Waves and Shock Waves. VI. The Disturbances Produced by Bursting Diaphragms with Compressed Air. Proc. Roy. Soc. A. Vol. 186, p. 293, 1946.Google Scholar
3. Bleakney, W., Weimer, D. K. and Fletcher, C. H. (1949). The Shock Tube—A Facility for Investigation in Fluid Dynamics. Rev. Sci. Inst. Vol. 20, p. 807, 1949.Google Scholar
4. Wegener, P. and Lundquist, G. (1951). Condensation of Water Vapour in a Shock Tube below 150°K. Journal Applied Physics Vol. 22, p. 233, 1951.Google Scholar
5. Hertzberg, A. (1951). A Shock Tube Method for Generating Hypersonic Flow. Journal Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 18, p. 803, 1951.Google Scholar
6. Griffith, W. (1952). Shock Tube Studies of Transonic Flow over Wedge Profiles. Journal Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 19, No. 4, p. 249, 1952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Nicholl, C. I. H. (1951). Head-on Collision of Shock and Rarefaction Waves. University of Toronto U.T.I.A. Rep. 10, October 1951.Google Scholar
8. Perry, R. W. and Kantrowitz, A. (1951). The Production and Stability of Converging Shock Waves. Journal Applied Physics, Vol. 22, p. 878, 1951.Google Scholar