Enhancement of shock waves

The flow field developed behind a shock wave propagating inside a constant cross-section conduit is solved numerically for two different cases. First, when the density of the ambient gas into which the shock propagates has a logarithmic change with distance. In the second, and the more practical case, the ambient gas is composed of pairs of air–helium layers having a continually decreasing width. It is shown that in both cases meaningful pressure amplification can be reached behind the transmitted shock wave. It is especially so in the second case. By proper choice of the number of air–helium layers and their width reduction ratio, pressure amplification as high as 7.5 can be obtained.      

The reflected pressure field in the interaction of weak shock waves with a compressible foam

This paper deals with the waves that are reflected from slabs of porous compressible foam attached to a rigid wall when impacted by a weak shock wave. The interest is in establishing possible attenuation of the pressure field after a shock or blast wave has struck the surface. Foam densities from 14 to 38 kg/m³ were tested over a range of shock wave Mach numbers less than 1.4. It is shown that the initial reflected shock wave strength is accurately predicted by the pseudo-gas model of Gelfand et al. (1983), with a pressure ratio of approximately 80% of the value for reflection off a rigid wall. Evidence is presented of gas entering the foam during the early stages of the process. A second wave emerges from the foam at a later stage and is separated from the first by a region of constant velocity and pressure. This second wave is not a shock wave but a compression front of significant thickness, which emerges from the foam earlier than predicted by the pseudo-gas model. Analysis of the origin of this wave points to much more complex flows within the foam than previously assumed, particularly in an apparent decrease in average wave front speed as the foam is compressed. It is shown that the pressure ratio across both these waves taken together is slightly higher than that for reflection off a rigid wall. In some cases this compression wave train is followed by a weak expansion wave.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1990.     

Attenuation of shock waves propagating in polyurethane foams

Shock wave attenuation in polyurethane foams is investigated experimentally and numerically. This study is a part of research project regarding shock propagation in polyurethane foams with high-porosities = 0.951 ~ 0.977 and low densities of ρc = 27.6 ~55.8 kg/m³. Sixty Millimeter long cylindrical foams with various cell numbers and foam insertion condition were installed in a horizontal shock tube of 50 mm i.d. and 5.4 mm in length. Results of pressure measurements in air/foam combination are compared with CFD simulation solving the one-dimensional Euler equations. In the case of a foam B fixed on shock tube wall, pressures at the shock tube end wall increases relatively slowly comparing to non-fixed foam, free to move and a foam A fixed on shock tube wall. This implies that elastic inertia hardly contributes to pressure build up. Pressures behind a foam C fixed on shock tube wall decrease indicating that shock wave is degenerated into compression wave. Dimensionless impulse and attenuation factor decrease as the initial cell number increases. The momentum loss varies depending on cell structure and cell number.     

Mesodynamics of shock waves in a polycrystalline metal

Simulation of the shock compression of polycrystalline α-iron at the mesoscale has been carried out using a two-dimensional, quasi-MD code. Grains of about 15 μm are randomly distributed to simulate the polycrystal. Results show the presence of a particle velocity dispersion comparable to the level observed experimentally. Other unique features include an eddy-like velocity field (meso rotation) and chaotic wave fronts. This paper was based on work that was presented at the 3rd international symposium on interdisciplinary shock wave research, Canberra, Australia, 1–3, March 2006.     

A one-dimensional meshfree particle formulation for simulating shock waves

In this paper, a one-dimensional meshfree particle formulation is proposed for simulating shock waves, which are associated with discontinuous phenomena. This new formulation is based on Taylor series expansion in the piecewise continuous regions on both sides of a discontinuity. The new formulation inherits the meshfree Lagrangian and particle nature of SPH, and is a natural extension and improvement on the traditional SPH method and the recently proposed corrective smoothed particle method (CSPM). The formulation is consistent even in the discontinuous regions. The resultant kernel and particle approximations consist of a primary part similar to that in CSPM, and a corrective part derived from the discontinuity. A numerical study is carried out to examine the performance of the formulation. The results show that the new formulation not only remedies the boundary deficiency problem but also simulates the discontinuity well. The formulation is applied to simulate the shock tube problem and a 1-D TNT slab detonation. It is found that the proposed formulation captures the shock wave at comparatively lower particle resolution. These preliminary numerical tests suggest that the new meshfree particle formulation is attractive in simulating hydrodynamic problems with discontinuities such as shocks waves.Received: 8 October 2002, Accepted: 10 May 2003, Published online: 15 August 2003     

Head-on collision between normal shock waves and a rubber-supported plate,a parametric study

The equations governing the flow resulting from a head-on collision between a normal shock wave and a rubber-supported plate are listed. The non-dimensional parameters that may affect the resulting flow are specified and their influence on the post-collision flow and waves is studied numerically. It is shown that changes in: the area-ratio between the gas and the rubber cross-sections, the incident shock wave Mach number and the mass ratio between the rubber and the plate it supports, all have significant effects on the post-collision gas and rubber responses. Changes in the rubber elasticity constant also affect the post-collision flow. The extent of the effect that changes in the above mentioned parameters have on the post-collision flow responses depends upon the loading mode used. Three different modes were studied; uni-axial stress loading, bi-axial stress loading and uni-axial strain loading.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.     

Interaction of a shock wave with a loose dusty bulk layer

The interaction of a planar shock wave with a loose dusty bulk layer has been investigated both experimentally and numerically. Experiments were conducted in a shock tube. The incident shock wave velocity and particle diameters were measured with the use of pressure transducers and a Malvern particle sizer, respectively. The flow fields, induced by shock waves, of both gas and granular phase were visualized by means of shadowgraphs and pulsed X-ray radiography with trace particles added. In addition, a two-phase model for granular flow presented by Gidaspow is introduced and is extended to describe such a complex phenomenon. Based on the kinetic theory, such a two-phase model has the advantage of being able to clarify many physical concepts, like particulate viscosity, granular conductivity and solid pressure, and deduce the correlative constitutive equations of the solid phase. The AUSM scheme was employed for the numerical calculation. The flow field behind the shock wave was displayed numerically and agrees well with our corresponding experimental results.      

Over forty years of continuous research at UTIAS on nonstationary flows and shock waves

Analytical and experimental research on non-stationary shock waves, rarefaction waves and contact surfaces has been conducted continuously at UTIAS since its inception in 1948. Some unique facilities were used to study the properties of planar, cylindrical and spherical shock waves and their interactions. Investigations were also performed on shock-wave structure and boundary layers in ionizing argon, water-vapour condensation in rarefaction waves, magnetogasdynamic flows, and the regions of regular and various types of Mach reflections of oblique shock waves. Explosively-driven implosions have been employed as drivers for projectile launchers and shock tubes, and as a means of producing industrial-type diamonds from graphite, and fusion plasmas in deuterium. The effects of sonic-boom on humans, animals and structures have also formed an important part of the investigations. More recently, interest has focussed on shock waves in dusty gases, the viscous and vibrational structure of weak spherical blast waves in air, and oblique shock-wave reflections. In all of these studies instrumentation and computational methods have played a very important role. A brief survey of this work is given herein and in more detail in the relevant references.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1990.     

Experimental investigation of the interaction of shock waves with textiles

Experimental studies have been performed to investigate the pressure amplification experienced behind a textile when exposed to a shock wave. Three textiles with different masses and air permeabilities were studied. Mach numbers for tests varied between 1.23 and 1.55. The distance between the back wall and the textile was varied between 3 and 15 mm. It was found that in most cases the presence of the textile led to a pressure amplification at the back wall. This amplification was dependent on the textile, Mach number and distance from the back wall. The processes causing the pressure amplification were identified by analysing pressure traces and contact shadowgraphs. It was found that when the incident wave impinges on the textile, a part is reflected upstream and a part is transmitted through the textile. The transmitted portion reflects back and forth in the gap between the textile and the back wall leading to a back wall pressure trace with a stepped profile. In addition, the textile moves towards the back wall causing compression waves to propagate towards the back wall. The combination of the stepped profile and the compression waves cause the pressure amplification. The contribution of each mechanism depends on the textile properties. Approximate wave diagrams have been constructed. Tests involving multiple layers of textiles are also discussed. Received 17 October 2000 / Accepted 2 February 2001     

Interaction of a shock wave with a particle cloud of finite size

We present the results of the numerical modelling of the interaction of a shock wave with a cloud of finite size particles. The computations were carried out within the framework of continuum/discrete model with the use of the techniques of digital diagnostics and pattern recognition. The shock wave and vortex formation behind the cloud of particles as well as the formation of a dense layer in the cloud have been revealed. For this reason, the use of a cloud of particles for relaxing the shock wave may prove to be inefficient.     

Application of background oriented schlieren for quantitative measurements of shock waves from explosions

This paper describes application of a background oriented schlieren technique in order to obtain quantitative measurements of shock waves from explosions by processing high speed digital video recordings. The technique is illustrated by an analysis of two explosions, a high explosive test and a hydrogen gas explosion test. The visualization of the shock front is utilized to calculate the shock Mach number, leading to a predicted shock front pressure. For high explosives the method agreed quite well with a standard curve for side-on shock pressures. In the case of the gas explosion test we can also show that the shock front is non-spherical. It should be possible to develop this technique to investigate external blast waves and external explosions from vented gas explosions in more details. This paper is based on work that was presented at the 21th International Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems, Poitiers, France, July 23–27, 2007.     

Detonation and deflagration initiation at the focusing of shock waves in combustible gaseous mixture

Abstract. Detonation and deflagration initiation under focusing conditions in a lean hydrogen-air mixture was experimentally investigated. The experiments were carried out in a shock tube equipped with the laser schlieren system and pressure transducers. Two-dimensional wedges (53° and 90°), semi-cylinder and parabola, were used as the focusing elements. The peculiarities of mild and strong ignition inside the reflector cavity were visualized. A hydrogen-nitrogen mixture was taken for comparison between reactive and inert mixture. It was found that mild ignition inside the reflector cavity can lead to detonation initiation outside the cavity. Schlieren pictures of the process were obtained and the dependence of the distance of detonation initiation on Mach number of the incident shock wave was established. Received 30 August 1999 / Accepted 23 February 2000     

Some aspects of streamwise vortex behavior during oblique shock wave/vortex interaction

An experimental study of the flowfield generated by the interaction of a streamwise vortex having a strong wake-type axial Mach number profile and a two-dimensional oblique shock wave was conducted in a Mach 2.49 flow. The experiments were aimed at investigating the dynamics of supersonic vortex distortion and to study downstream behavior of a streamwise vortex during a strong shock wave/vortex encounter. The experiments involved positioning an oblique shock generator in the form of a two-dimensional wedge downstream of a semi-span, vortex generator wing section so that the wing-tip vortex interacted with the otherwise planar oblique shock wave. Planar laser sheet visualizations of the flowfield indicated an expansion of the vortex core in crossing a spherically blunt-nose shock front. The maximum vortex core diameter occurred at a distance of 12.7 mm downstream of the wedge leading edge where the vortex had a core diameter of more than double its undisturbed value. At distances further downstream the vortex core diameter remained nearly constant, while it appeared to become more diffused at distances far from the wedge leading edge. Measurements of vortex trajectory revealed that the vortex convected in the freestream direction immediately downstream of the bulged-forward shock structure, while it traveled parallel to the wedge surface at distances further downstream. The turbulent distorted vortex structure which formed as a result of the interaction, was found to be sensitive to downstream disturbances in a manner consistent with incompressible vortex breakdown. Physical arguments are presented to relate behavior of streamwise vortices during oblique and normal shock wave interactions. Received 7 September 1996 / Accepted 10 February 1998     

Focusing of weak shock waves in confined axisymmetric chambers

Theoretical study of a weak shock wave focusing process on a spherical region in confined 3-D axisymmetric chambers is presented. The chambers are elliptic or parabolic in the plane cross-section containing their axis of symmetry. In the elliptic case a spherical shock wave of constant strength generated at one of the focal points will reflect off the chamber wall and converge on a spherical region around the second focus of the chamber. It is shown that the pressure distribution on the converging spherical shock wave is not homogeneous. In the parabolic case two possibilities of shock generation are considered. In the first one a plane shock wave of constant intensity is send in the inner of the chamber. This shock wave with the plane perpendicular to the symmetry axis will after the reflection off the chamber wall transform to a spherical shock with non-homogeneous pressure distribution. Alternatively, a spherical shock of constant intensity generated at the focus of the paraboloidal chamber will after the reflection transform to a plane shock with non-homogeneous pressure distribution propagating in the outer of the chamber. The above mentioned problems are solved within the frame of the geometrical acoustics approximation and the flow fields as well as the non-uniform shock strengths behind the converging wave fronts are calculated.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.     

Investigation of shock waves interference and associated hysteresis effect at variable-Mach-number upstream flow

Experimental investigations and numerical simulations have been performed to study the transition between steady regular and Mach reflections induced by flow Mach number variation. The experiments have been carried out in the supersonic wind tunnel SIGMA 4B, at the Institut Aérotechnique (IAT) in St Cyr L'Ecole, France. Symmetric and asymmetric arrangements of wedges have been tested. No significant hysteresis phenomenon has been detected experimentally. However, this phenomenon has been revealed by numerical computations obtained by solving the Navier-Stokes equations.Received: 9 October 2001, Accepted: 11 October 2002, Published online: 21 February 2003     

Interaction of thin perforated plates and weak shock waves

The paper presents experimental results on elastic deformation of perforated thin plates made of glass-fiber laminate and subjected to weak shock waves. The characteristics of the dynamic process in the plates are determined __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 11, pp. 126–130, November 2006.     

Enhancement of shock waves in a porous medium saturated with a liquid containing soluble-gas bubbles

Evolution of a moderate-intensity shock wave and its enhancement after reflection from a rigid surface embedded in a porous medium are studied experimentally. The medium is saturated with a liquid that has bubbles of a soluble gas. A physical mechanism of shock wave enhancement in a saturated porous medium is proposed. Experimental data on the amplitude and velocity of reflected waves are compared with results of theoretical modeling. The process of gas bubble dissolution behind a shock wave is studied.     

Reflection of a ring shock wave from a rigid wall

A new type of an implosion has been observed experimentally and simulated in a numerical calculation: the formation of a quasi-spherical converging shock wave after the reflection of a ring shock wave from a solid wall. The conversion of the ring shock wave into the quasi-spherical converging shock wave intensifies the local implosion properties.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.     

Measurement of shock waves velocity in the air plasma of capacitively coupled RF discharge

The velocity of shock wave propagation in the air plasma of stationary capacitively coupled RF discharge at different gas pressure and charged particles concentration has been measured. It is shown, that the velocity of the shock wave increases at the increase of the concentration. Measurement results are brought to the universal dependence. Received 17 August 1998 / Accepted 10 December 1999