An experimental investigation of the stability of converging cylindrical shock waves in air

An experimental study was made of the stability of converging cylindrical shock waves. The experiments were conducted on annular shock tubes equipped with a double exposure holographic interferometer in the Stoßwellenlabor, RWTH Aachen, and in the Institute of High Speed Mechanics, Tohoku University, Sendai, for shock Mach numbers of 1.1 to 2.1 in air. By comparing these two different shock tube experiments, it is found that in the former facility the mode-three instability is predominant at the center of convergence, whereas the mode-four instability appears in the latter setup. The instabilities are denoted in this way because the shock and the flow field behind it reveal a remarkable triangular and quadrangular symmetry, respectively. It is concluded that the converging cylindrical shock wave is always unstable and sensitive to the structure of the annular shock tube. Usefulness of holographic interferometry to this kind of shock wave research is also demonstrated.To Prof. Dr. sq. techn. Dr.-Ing. e.h. Fritz Schultz-Grunow on the occasion of his 80th birthday     

Characteristics of an annular vertical diaphragmless shock tube

Abstract. This paper reports on the characteristics of a compact vertical diaphragmless shock tube, which was constructed and tested in the Shock Wave Research Center to study experimentally the behavior of toroidal shock waves. It is 1.15 m in height and has a self-sustained co-axial vertical structure consisting of a 100 mm i.d. outer tube and an 80 mm o.d. inner tube. To create a ring shaped shock wave between the inner and outer tubes, a rubber sheet is inserted to separate a high pressure driver gas from a test gas, which is bulged with auxiliary high pressure helium from the behind. When the rubber membrane is contracted by the sudden release of the auxiliary gas so as to break the seal, shock waves are formed. Special design features of the shock tube are described and their role in producing repeatable shock waves is discussed. Its special opening characteristics make possible the production of annular shaped shock waves that are unlikely met with a conventional tube that uses rupturing diaphragms. Performance of the shock tube is evaluated in terms of the shock wave Mach numbers and the measured flow properties. It eventually showed a higher degree of repeatability and the scatter in the shock wave Mach numbers Ms was found to be 0.2% for Ms ranging from 1.1 to 1.8. The shock wave Mach number so far measured agreed very well with the simple shock tube theory. Received 3 February 1999 / Accepted 6 April 2000     

Regular versus Mach reflection for converging polygonal shocks

The onset of Mach reflection or regular reflection at the vertices of a converging polygonal shock wave was investigated experimentally in a horizontal annular shock tube. The converging shock waves were visualized by schlieren optics. Two different types of polygonal shock convergence patterns were observed. We compared the behavior during the focusing process for triangular and square-shaped shocks. It is shown that once a triangular shaped shock is formed, the corners in the converging shock will undergo regular reflection and consequently the shape will remain unaltered during the focusing process. A square-shaped shock suffers Mach reflections at the corners and hence a reconfiguring process takes place; the converging shock wave alternates between a square and an octagon formation during the focusing process.      

激波诱导下的气体界面不稳定性实验研究

界面不稳定性, 特别是Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) 不稳定性, 是流体
力学中一项重要的研究内容, 无论在学术研究领域还是工程应用领域都有着
重要的研究价值和应用背景. RM 不稳定性问题自提出以来, 得到了学术界
广泛的关注, 其研究无论是在实验方法、数值模拟还是在理论分析方面都取
得了很大的进展. 在激波管中开展激波与界面相互作用的实验研究, 即研究
界面初始扰动在激波诱导下的演化规律, 是目前研究RM 不稳定性的重要手
段. RM 不稳定性实验研究包括3 个部分, 分别是激波的产生、界面的形成
以及流场的观测. 综述了RM 不稳定性的实验研究进展, 并针对目前研究的
局限性提出了RM 不稳定性今后实验研究的重点和方向: 汇聚激波作用下界
面不稳定性的发展规律; 激波冲击下多种形状及大振幅界面的演化机理; 三
维界面的RM 不稳定性发展规律; 可压缩湍流的形成与混合机理.      

柱形汇聚激波冲击球形重气体界面的实验研究

采用高速纹影法实验研究了柱形汇聚激波与球形重气体界面相互作用的 Richtmyer-Meshkov不稳定性问题. 激波管实验段基于激波动力学理论设计, 将马赫数为1.2 的平面激波转化为柱形汇聚激波, 气体界面由肥皂膜分隔六氟化硫(内)和空气(外)得到. 采用高速摄影机在单次实验中拍摄激波运动的全过程, 对柱形激波的形成进行了实验验证, 并进一步观测了汇聚激波与球形气体界面相互作用过程中的波系发展和气体界面变形以及反射激波同已变形界面二次作用的流场演化. 结果表明: 当柱形汇聚激波穿过气泡界面以后, 气泡左侧界面极点沿激波传播方向保持匀速运动, 气泡右侧界面发展成为射流结构, 气泡主体发展成为涡环结构; 在反射激波的二次作用下, 流场中无序运动显著增强并很快进入湍流混合阶段.     

Focusing of Strong Shocks in an Annular Shock Tube

Focusing of strong shock waves in a gas-filled thin convergence chamber with various forms of the reflector boundary is investigated experimentally and numerically. The convergence chamber is mounted at the end of the horizontal co-axial shock tube. The construction of the convergence chamber allows the assembly of the outer chamber boundaries of various shapes. Boundaries with three different shapes have been used in the present investigation—a circle, an octagon and a smooth pentagon. The shock tube in the current study was able to produce annular shocks with the initial Mach number in the range M _s = 2.3 − 3.6. The influence of the shape of the boundary on the shape and properties of the converging and reflected shock waves in the chamber has then been investigated both experimentally and numerically. It was found that the form of the converging shock is initially governed by the shape of the reflector and the nonlinear interaction between the shape of the shock and velocity of shock propagation. Very close to the center of convergence the shock obtains a square-like form in case of a circular and octagonal reflector boundary. This is believed to stem from the instability of the converging shock front triggered by the disturbances in the flow field. The outgoing, reflected shocks were also observed to be influenced by the shape of the boundary through the flow ahead as created by the converging shocks.     

环形激波绕射, 反射和聚焦的数值模拟研究

应用频散可控耗散格式对环形激波在圆柱形激波管内绕射、反射和聚焦的问题进行了数值模拟研究，研究结果表明环形激波形成强烈聚焦的关键因素是环形激波在圆柱形管道中向对称轴运动时，绕射激波就不断加速而不作通常情况下的衰减；不同马赫数的环形激波绕射也产生不同马赫数及形状的准柱形激波，导致聚焦效果和位置的差异；另外，环形激波聚焦于一个点而圆柱形激波聚焦于一条线，两者有本质不同。     

圆柱形汇聚激波诱导 Richtmyer-Meshkov不稳定的 SPH 模拟

汇聚激波诱导不同物质界面的Richtmyer-Meshkov(RM)不稳定现象在惯性约束核聚变领域有重要的学术意义和工程背景.基于网格离散的宏观流体力学方法由于数值扩散问题往往需要高阶精度算法才能准确追踪界面演化,且对大变形和破碎合并等复杂界面追踪也极为困难.光滑粒子流体动力学(smoothed particlehydrodynamics,SPH)方法采用纯拉格朗日算法,可以有效克服上述难点.但经典SPH算法需采用人工黏性处理强间断,在激波间断处往往会出现严重的非物理振荡,对于涉及强冲击不稳定性问题,很难达到理想的模拟效果.本文采用基于HLL黎曼求解器的SPH算法,实现了对强激波和大密度比物质界面的有效分辨和追踪.一维数值校核证明了代码的可靠性、健壮性,并进一步模拟了二维圆柱形汇聚冲击波冲击四边形轻/重气界面诱导的RM不稳定性问题,与已有实验结果进行了对比,发现模拟结果与实验结果吻合.通过分析界面演化过程中的密度及压力变化,发现本文所采用的方法可准确地追踪激波与界面作用的复杂界面和波系演化规律.研究结果为进一步理解和解释汇聚冲击条件下的RM不稳定性机理奠定了基础.      

Numerical investigation of toroidal shock wave focusing in a cylindrical chamber

In this paper, focusing of a toroidal shock wave propagating from an annular shock tube into a cylindrical chamber was investigated numerically with the dispersion controlled dissipation (DCD) scheme. The first case for an incident Mach number of 1.5 was conducted and compared with experiments for validation. Then, several cases were calculated for higher incident Mach numbers varying from 2.0 to 5.0, and complicated flow structures were observed. The numerical study was mainly focused on two aspects: focusing process and flow structures. The process, including diffraction, focusing, and reflection, is displayed to reveal the focusing mechanism, and the flow structures at different incident. Mach numbers are used to demonstrate shock reflection styles and focusing characteristics. PACS 47.40.Ki; 47.40.Nm; 52.35.Tc     

Experimental and numerical investigation of inclined air/SF6 interface instability under shock wave

The shock tube experiments of inclined air/SF6 interface instability under the shock wave with the Mach numbers 1.23 and 1.41 are conducted. The numerical simulation is done with the parallel algorithm and the multi-viscous-fluid and turbulence (MVFT) code of the large-eddy simulation (LES). The developing process of the interface accelerated by the shock wave is reproduced by the simulations. The complex wave structures, e.g., the propagation, refraction, and reflection of the shock wave, are clearly revealed in the flows. The simulated evolving images of the interface are consistent with the experimental ones. The simulated width of the turbulent mixing zone (TMZ) and the displacements of the bubble and the spike also agree well with the experimental data. Also, the reliability and effectiveness of the MVFT in simulating the problem of interface instability are validated. The more energies are injected into the TMZ when the shock wave has a larger Mach number. Therefore, the perturbed interface develops faster.     

The formation of a secondary shock wave behind a shock wave diffracting at a convex corner

This paper deals with the formation of a secondary shock wave behind the shock wave diffracting at a two-dimensional convex corner for incident shock Mach numbers ranging from 1.03 to 1.74 in air. Experiments were carried out using a 60 mm 150 mm shock tube equipped with holographic interferometry. The threshold incident shock wave Mach number () at which a secondary shock wave appeared was found to be = 1.32 at an 81° corner and = 1.33 at a 120° corner. These secondary shock waves are formed due to the existence of a locally supersonic flow behind the diffracting shock wave. Behind the diffracting shock wave, the subsonic flow is accelerated and eventually becomes locally supersonic. A simple unsteady flow analysis revealed that for gases with specific heats ratio the threshold shock wave Mach number was = 1.346. When the value of is less than this, the vortex is formed at the corner without any discontinuous waves accompanying above the slip line. The viscosity was found to be less effective on the threshold of the secondary shock wave, although it attenuated the pressure jump at the secondary shock wave. This is well understood by the consideration of the effect of the wall friction in one-dimensional duct flows. In order to interpret the experimental results a numerical simulation using a shock adaptive unstructured grid Eulerian solver was also carried out. Received 1 May 1996 / Accepted 12 September 1996     

Experimental study of toroidal shock wave focusing in a compact vertical annular diaphragmless shock tube

The paper reports results of experiments regarding toroidal shock wave focusing in a vertical shock tube as a part of a series of converging shock wave studies. This compact vertical shock tube was designed to achieve a high degree of reproducibility with minimum shock formation distance by adopting a diaphragmless operating system. The shock tube was manufactured in the Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University. An aspheric lens shaped cylindrical test section was connected at the open end of the shock tube to visualize the diffraction and focusing of the toroidal shock wave released from the ring shaped shock tube opening. Pressure transducers were flush mounted on the shock tube’s test section to measure pressure histories at the converging test section. Double exposure holographic interferometry was employed to quantitatively visualize the shock waves. The whole sequence of toroidal shock wave diffraction, focusing, and its reflection from the symmetrical axis were successfully studied. The transition of reflected shock waves was observed.     

Experimental and computational studies focusing processes of shock waves reflected from parabolic reflectors

This paper describes experimental and numerical studies of the focusing process of shock waves reflected from various shapes of a parabolic reflector. The effect of incident shock strength on the focusing process was also investigated. Experiments were carried out in a conventional shock tube and a test gas was air for incident shock Mach numbers ranging from 1.1 to 2.0. In the experiments, the process of shock focusing was visualized by schlieren method. Numerical simulations were conducted for incident shock Mach numbers up to 3.0 by solving the two-dimensional unsteady Euler equations. The numerical results were compared with experiment for various parabolic reflector shapes and for various incident shock Mach numbers. Based on the experimental and computational results, the pattern of shock focusing and shock focusing mechanism are discussed.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1.0 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.     

A holographic interferometric study of shock wave focusing in a circular reflector

A holographic interferometric study was made of the focusing of reflected shock waves from a circular reflector. A diaphragmless shock tube was used for incident shock Mach numbers ranging from 1.03 to 1.74. Hence, the process of reflected shock wave focusing was quantitatively observed. It is found that a converging shock wave along the curved wall undergoes an unsteady evolution of mach reflection and its focusing is, therefore, subject to the evolution of the process of shock wave reflections. The collision of triple points terminates the focusing process at the geometrical focus. In order to interprete quantitatively these interferograms, a numerical simulation using an Eulerian solver combined with adaptive unstructured grids was carried out. It is found numerically that the highest density appears immediately after the triple point collision. This implies that the final stage of focusing is mainly determined by the interaction between shock waves and vortices. The interaction of finite strength shock waves, hence, prevents a curved shock wave from creating the infinite increase of density or pressure at a focal point which is otherwise predicted by the linear acoustic theory.     

The effects that changes in the diaphragm aperture have on the resulting shock tube flow

In a conventional shock tube, the driver and the driven sections have similar (if not identical) cross-sectional area and the diaphragm opened area, upon rupturing, is practically equal to the tube cross-sectional area. Such geometry results in generating a well-formed shock wave in the tube’s driven section. The present experimental work checks the effects that changes in the diaphragm ruptured area have on the generated shock and rarefaction waves. Experiments were conducted in an 80?mm by 80?mm cross section shock tube generating incident shock waves having Mach numbers within the range from 1.06 to 1.25. In each run, pressure histories were recorded along the driven and the driver sections of the shock tube. The recorded pressures reveal that progressive reduction in the diaphragm open space resulted in a weaker shock and both longer time and distance until the compression waves generated close to the diaphragm coalesces into a shock wave. In addition, reducing the open space of the diaphragm resulted in a significant slow down in the high pressure reduction prevailing in the driver section.     

Numerical investigation of inviscid shock wave dynamics in an expansion tube

Highly complicated shock wave dynamics has been numerically calculated by solving the Euler equations for a circular shock tube suddenly expanded three times of the original tube diameter atx=0. Shock waves of different shock Mach number,M _s =1.5 and 2.0, have produced remarkably distinct blast jet structures. A planar shock wave took its final form after the blast by repeated Mach reflections of the blast wave: the first one at the wall and the second one at the central axis. The central Mach disc overtook and merged with the annular Mach stem before the planar shock wave was formed. In contrast to the blast wave which would propagate spherically in an open space, the present blast wave undergoes complex morphological transformation in the restricted flow passage, resulting in an unstable and oscillatory blast jet structure of highly rotational nature. The slipstream tube emanating from the shock tube exit corner decomposed into a chain of small vortex rings that interacted with the barrel shock of the jet, which caused periodic collapse of the jet structure. The finite volume-FCT formulation equipped with the time-dependenth-refinement adaptive unstructured triangular mesh technique in the present paper has contributed to resolution of the intricate physical discontinuities developing in the blast flow fields.     

Interaction of a shock with a sphere suspended in a vertical shock tube

Shock wave interaction with a sphere is one of the benchmark tests in shock dynamics. However, unlike wind tunnel experiments, unsteady drag force on a sphere installed in a shock tube have not been measured quantitatively. This paper presents an experimental and numerical study of the unsteady drag force acting on a 80 mm diameter sphere which was vertically suspended in a 300 mm x 300 mm vertical shock tube and loaded with a planar shock wave of M _s = 1.22 in air. The drag force history on the sphere was measured by an accelerometer installed in it. Accelerometer output signals were subjected to deconvolution data processing, producing a drag history comparable to that obtained by solving numerically the Navier-Stokes equations. A good agreement was obtained between the measured and computed drag force histories. In order to interpret the interaction of shock wave over the sphere, high speed video recordings and double exposure holographic interferometric observations were also conducted. It was found that the maximum drag force appeared not at the time instant when the shock arrived at the equator of the sphere, but at some earlier time before the transition of the reflected shock wave from regular to Mach reflection took place. A negative value of the drag force was observed, even though for a very short duration of time, when the Mach stem of the transmitted shock wave relfected and focused at the rear stagnation point of the sphere.Received: 31 March 2003, Accepted: 7 July 2003, Published online: 2 September 2003     

Interaction of a plane shock wave with slitted wedges

An experimental and numerical study was made of shock wave transition over slitted wedges. Experiments were conducted in a shock tube by using double exposure holographic interferometry. Shock Mach numbers ranged from 1.07 to 3.03 in air. Slitted wedge models having perforation ratios of 0.34 and 0.4 were installed in the test section. The critical transition angle was obtained analytically by the shock polar analysis where effects of boundary conditions, wall suction, and surface roughness were empirically taken into account. As the results, it was found that for stronger shock waves and a perforation ratio of 0.4, the critical transition angle was decreased by about 10° in comparison to the detachment criterion. A flow visualization study clarified various wave interaction mechanisms associated with the wall suction. The critical transition angle was successfully explained by the shock polar analysis. The PLM numerical simulation was also conducted. The numerical result agreed very well with the experimental findings.     

Three-dimensional shock wave reflection over a corner of two intersecting wedges

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of three-dimensional shock wave reflections over a corner of two wedges intersecting perpendicularly in a shock tube. Experiments were conducted in a diaphragmless shock tube equipped with double-exposure diffuse holographic interferometry in which the time interval between the first and second exposure was set to be . This arrangement clearly visualized complex configurations of three-dimensional shock wave reflections. A numerical study was also carried out for interpreting these holographic interferometric observations by using the Weighted Average Flux (WAF) method to solve the three-dimensional unsteady compressible Euler equations. It was found that along the line of the intersection of these two wedges, two Mach stems intersected each other resulting in the formation of a Mach stem which leaned forward. Received 30 June 1996 / Accepted 6 October 1996     

Guderley reflection for higher Mach numbers in a standard shock tube

An experimental study shows that the Guderley reflection (GR) of shock waves can be produced in a standard shock tube. A new technique was utilised which comprises triple point of a developed weak Mach reflection undergoing a number of reflections off the ceiling and floor of the shock tube before arriving at the test section. Both simple perturbation sources and diverging ramps were used to generate a transverse wave in the tube which then becomes the weak reflected wave of the reflection pattern. Tests were conducted for three ramp angles (10°, 15°, and 20°) and two perturbation sources for a range of Mach numbers (1.10–1.40) and two shock tube expansion chamber lengths (2.0 and 4.0 m). It was found that the length of the Mach stem of the reflection pattern is the overall vertical distance traveled by the triple point. Images with equivalent Mach stem lengths in the order of 2.0 m were produced. All tests showed evidence of the fourth wave of the GR, namely the expansion wave behind the reflected shock wave. A shocklet terminating the expansion wave was also identified in a few cases mainly for incident wave Mach numbers of approximately 1.20.