Shear layer behavior resulting from shock wave diffraction

All previous studies on shock wave diffraction in shock tubes have spatial and temporal limitations due to the size of the test sections. These limitations result from either the reflection of the expansion wave, generated at the corner, from the top wall and/or of the reflection of the incident diffracted shock from the bottom wall of the test section passing back through the region of interest. This has limited the study of the evolution of the shear layer and its associated vortex, which forms a relatively small region of the flow behind the shock with an extent of only a few centimeters, and yet is a region of significant interest. A special shock tube is used in the current tests which allow evolution of the flow to be examined at a scale about an order of magnitude larger than in previously published results, with shear layer lengths of up to 250 mm being achieved without interference from adjacent walls. Tests are presented for incident shock wave Mach numbers of nominally 1.3–1.5. Studies have been undertaken with wall angles of 10, 20, 30 and 90°. Significant changes are noted as the spatial and temporal scale of the experiment increases. For a given wall angle, the flow behind the incident shock is not self-similar as is usually assumed. Both shear layer instability and the development of turbulent patches become evident, neither of which have been noted in previous tests.