Distortion of the shock front in a shock tube with a divergent conical transition section

The profile of the leading shock front in a gas has been experimentally investigated in shock tubes of variable cross section. It is shown that the presence of a conical transition section between the high-pressure and low-pressure chambers leads to the retention of inhomogeneities on the surface of the wave front (slopes, twists, and bends) over a length of 20–30 diameters.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 141–147, July–August, 1991.