SHOCK TUBE

The shock tube is an instrument used to replicate and direct

blast waves at a sensor or a model in order to simulate actual
explosions and their effects, usually on a smaller scale. Shock
tubes (and related impulse facilities such as shock tunnels,
expansion tubes, and expansion tunnels) can also be used to
study aerodynamic flow under a wide range of temperatures and
pressures that are difficult to obtain in other types of testing
facilities. Shock tubes are also used to investigate compressible
flow phenomena
A shock wave inside a shock tube may be generated by a small
explosion (blast-driven) or by the buildup of high pressures which
cause diaphragm(s) to burst and a shock wave to propagate down
the shock tube (compressed-gas driven)

Working
The shock tube is a device in which a normal shock wave is
produced by the sudden bursting of a diaphragm separating a gas
at high pressure from one at lower pressure. The simplest form of
a shock tube, where the high pressure and low pressure sections
are commonly referred to, respectively, as the driver and driven
sections of the tube.

When the diaphragm bursts a shock wave forms almost

instantaneously and propagates into the driven section, while
simultaneously an expansion wave propagates, in the opposite
direction, into the driver section. The propagation of the shock
front
and
expansion
fan
changes
the
gas

pressure, temperature, and density, and sets the gas in motion

relative to the shock-tube walls. The strength of the shock wave
and expansion fan thus produced depends on the initial pressure
ratio across the diaphragm and on the physical properties of the
gases in the driver and the driven section

Applications
The uniform flow behind the shock wave may be used as a
short duration with tunnel. In this role, the shock tube is
similar to an intermittent or blow-down tunnel, but the
duration of fl ow is much shorter, usually of the order of a
millisecond but the operating conditions (particularly the
high stagnation enthalpies) which are possible, cannot be
easily obtained with other types of facility.
The abrupt changes of flow condition at the shock front may be
utilized for studying transient aerodynamic effects, and for studies
of dynamic and thermal response.

In the shock tube relations we use a different for every flow

zone. This is because in most of the application, the temperature
experienced by the gas at these zones are appreciably above the
perfect gas. Therefore, the gas does not behave as perfect gas,
and hence takes different values corresponding to the local
temperature.