Flow in a shock tube

November 30, 2007

1 Summary
In the lab the shock Mach number as well as the Mach number downstream the moving shock are
determined for dierent pressure ratios between the high and low pressure side of the membrane.
The speed of the shock is determined by measuring the time needed for the shock to move a
certain distance along the tube. The Mach number of the ow behind the moving shock is
determined from the inclination angle of the stationary oblique shock caused by a wedge inserted
in the test section of the shock tube. Experimental values are compared with theoretical values
based on idealized shock tube ow.
2 Experimental rig and test equipment
The set-up of the experiment is sketched in gure 1.
The total length of the shock tube is approximately 2.5 m. The driver section where the
pressure is high <20 bar and the driven section where the pressure is low ( 1 mbar) are separated
by a circular membrane of aluminum. In the entrance of the driven section, there is a cross of
curved knives onto which the membrane is forced as the pressure dierence between the sections
is increased. At a given pressure dierence the membrane bursts and a shock wave is formed
which moves into the low-pressure gas. The opening time of the membrane is short, 240 10
s. The driving pressure is changed by varying the thickness of the membrane (0.3 mm < d <
0.9 mm). Figure 2 shows the relation between membrane thickness and bursting pressure.The
variation in pressure at which the membrane bursts is very small for a given membrane thickness,
only about 1%.
Downstream the membrane the circular cross-section (diameter 8 cm ) changes its shape
to a rectangular cross-section (5 10 cm
2
, height width) while the area is constant. The
transforming section is 0.3 m long. The gas supplied to the driver section comes from a high-
pressure gas bottle with a pressure reduction valve. The pressure in the driver section is limited to
32 bar (safety reasons) and in the driven section the pressure should be kept below atmospheric
pressure before the shot. The driven section ends in a dump vessel used to damp out shock
reections and limits the nal pressure in the the shock tube after a shot. A pressure transducer
is connected to the driver section and the signal is monitored with a voltmeter with memory
enabling us to retain the pressure at the time of ring. The gas in the driven section is evacuated
by a two-stage vacuum pump and the lowest pressure possible is about 0.01 mbar. The pressure
in the driven section is monitored with manometers at moderate pressures and Pirani gauges
at the lowest pressures. After evacuating the air in the driven section, ambient air is let in
through a small vacuum valve and the pressure is adjusted to the right level. During pumping,
the temperature of the gas changes in accordance with gure 3. It is thus necessary to wait about
1
KTH Mekanik 2
A. High-pressure gas bottle
B. Manometer (differential)
C. Outlet valve
D. Pressure gauge
E. Voltmeter
F. Needel valve
G. Manometer (absolute)
H. Oscilloscope
I. Time delay unit
J. Temperature sensor with preamplifier
L. Mercury lamp
M. Schlieren optics
N. CCD camera
O. Pirani gauge
P. Vacuum instrument
Q. Vacuum pump
A
B C
D
E
F
G
H
J
L
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
J
M
M
N
O
P
Q
I
K. Computer
K
Figure 1: Shock tube and measurement equipment.
0.6 mm 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Membran
thickness
Opening pressure (atm)
Figure 2: Opening pressure as a function of membrane thickness.
5 minutes until a temperature balance is established and the speed of sound a in the the gas is
known.
The driven section of the tube is equipped with a number of shock sensors mounted in the
side wall. The sensing element is a glass plug with a thin stripe of platinum painted on the end
surface of the plug. The surface is mounted ush with the inner side of the tube. When the
KTH Mekanik 3
4 3 2 1 0
18.0
18.5
19.0
19.5
20.0
20.5
21.0
Time (min)
Temp. (C)
Figure 3: Gas temperature as a function of time during the evacuation phase.
shock passes over the glass surface the resistance of the platinum lm is changed and transformed
via an electric circuit to a voltage pulse. Due to the low heat capacity of the lm, the sensor is
very fast and the response time is less than 1 s. Two sensors (no 1 and 2), 25 cm apart, are
connected to a digital storage oscilloscope. The time for the shock to move from sensor 1 to 2 is
determined from the oscilloscope traces.
Oscilloscope
Pre-
amplifier
Time delay
unit
Temp.
sensor 3
Temp.
sensor 4
Pre-
amplifier
CCD
Camera
Figure 4: Schematic of the electric circuit.
KTH Mekanik 4
The test section is located downstream of the sensors and contains a wedge with an angle of
6

. The test section has vertical glass windows to facilitate optical access and the edge of the
wedge is aligned horizontal and normal to the glass surfaces. The lower surface of the wedge is
parallel with, and 2 cm above the lower wall of the tube. To visualize the oblique shock at the
wedge schlieren technique is used. A continuous light source, a mercury lamp, is used and the
shock system is recorded by a CCD camera with a shutter time of 50 s. The camera is triggered
by sensor 2 but the signal is delayed by a variable time delay unit to be able to take a photo at
the appropriate time. Figure 4 shows the electric circuit diagram of the set-up.
3 Theoretical calculations
The theoretical calculations are based on idealized shock tube ow. This incorporates the fol-
lowing assumptions:
1. Ideal gases in driver and driven sections.
2. Instant opening of the membrane.
3. Flow without friction and heat conduction.
An x t diagram of the ow is shown in gure 5. The gure is restricted to times before
t
1
t
2
l
1
l
2
X
t
1
2
3
4
Sensor 2
Figure 5: x-t diagram of the ow.
the waves are inuenced by the end walls. The double-line between region 1 and 2 shows the
KTH Mekanik 5
motion of the shock and the dashed line between 2 and 3 is the motion of the contact surface
between hot and cold gas determined by equal velocity and equal pressure on both sides. Region
3 contains the isentropic expansion fan. The angle of each characteristic i.e. the propagation
velocity matches the local speed of sound minus the gas velocity.
From boundary conditions stated above a relation between the shock Mach number M
s
and
initial pressure ratio (p
4
/p
1
) over the membrane could be expressed:
p
4
/p
1
=
2
1
M
2
s
(
1
1)

1
+ 1

1

4
1

1
+ 1
a
1
a
4

M
s

1
M
s

2
4

4
1
.
The function is plotted in gure 6 for helium or air as driving gas and air in the low-pressure
section. In all cases, the same gas temperature is assumed. The Mach number behind the moving
shock, M
2
= u
2
/a
2
, is determined using normal shock relations. The continuity equation gives:
a
1
/a
4
=0.34
(T
1
/T
4
=1
High pressure: He
Low pressure: Air)
a
1
/a
4
=0.9
Air
a
1
/a
4
=1.0
Air
a
1
/a
4
=1.1
Air
M
s
Log(p
4
/p
1
)
10
2
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
4 6
8
Figure 6: Shock Mach number M
s
as a function of the pressure ratio p
4
/p
1
.

1
c
s
=
2
(c
s
u
2
),
where c
s
is the velocity of the shock, gives the velocity behind the moving shock:
u
2
=

1

1

c
s
.
The relation between velocity of sound at both sides of the shock is obtained from:
KTH Mekanik 6
a
2
=

T
2
T
1
a
1
.
Using the temperature and density relations from the table of straight shock relations at a
given M
s
gives the sought M
2
.
4 Experiments and evaluation of data
In each experiment the time between the sensor pulses (the elapse time) as well as the pressure
in the driver and driven sections of the tube at the bursting instant are registered. At the lowest
pressure ratio, also a photo of the standing oblique shock is taken. The temperature of the
dierent gases is assumed to be equal to room temperature. Shock velocity and pressure ratio
are determined from these data. The camera is trigged by the signal from sensor 2. The signal
has to be delayed until the ow over the wedge is stationary. In gure 5 the time between the
shock passes the sensor and the wedge is denoted t
1
and the time between the shock passes the
sensor and the contact surface reaches the wedge is denoted t
2
. From the gure we hence obtain
the following relation:
t
1
=
l
2
c
s
,
t
2
=
l
1
u
2

l
1
l
2
c
s
In the gure, l
1
= 155 cm and l
2
= 20 cm. The time delay is chosen between t
1
and t
2
.
From the pictures taken, the angle of the oblique shock is readily found and hence M
2
from the
M diagram.
5 Discussing the assumptions
Ideal gas.
The assumption of ideal gases is probably relevant at the low Mach numbers (M
s
< 3) used
in the lab exercise, because only minor variations in the heat capacity will occur.
Instant membrane opening.
The time it takes until stationary shock speed is reached depends on the membrane opening.
The membrane opening also inuences the character of the contact surface. In the lab exercise,
the shock wave is fully developed and plane when it passes the sensors and reaches the wedge.
But the time delay due to the nite opening time causes the shock curve in the x t diagram
to be shifted upwards and some precautions has to be taken in the setting of the spark delay
time. We also have a to consider the mixing in the contact zone due to an imperfect membrane
opening and thermal gradients which decrease the time of stationary ow around the wedge.
Boundary layer.
Behind the shock, the gas temperature and velocity are dierent compared to the situation
along the walls and hence boundary layers start to develop as soon as the membrane bursts. The
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boundary layer development causes the shock to attenuate, the contact surface to accelerate and
the available time for which the ow is constant to diminish. However, these eects are of minor
importance as the shock Mach number is low and the tube is short in our case.
6 Presentation of the results
The protocol should contain the following:
Registered data:
1. Pressures (p
1
, p
4
)
2. Temperature of the gases (T
1
, T
4
)
3. Elapse time between the two sensors (t)
Calculated values:
1. Delay times (t
1
, t
2
).
2. Pressure ratios (p
4
/p
1
)
3. Shock Mach numbers (M
s
)
The calculated values should be plotted in the curve M
s
= f(p
4
/p
1
) handed out. Along with the
pictures taken of the oblique shock, you should give the following data:
1. Time delay used for the camera.
2. Measured oblique shock angle ().
3. Calculated Mach number behind the moving shock (M
2
).