Hydrodynamic shock tube for quick transportation of spray with large flow rate

 This paper reports an experimental study of generating water spray with large flow rate by means of hydrodynamic shock tubes. A water column was put in the low-pressure section of the shock tube and high-pressure helium gas was added into the high-pressure section. When the diaphragm separating the gas and the water was ruptured by the high-pressure gas, the water column was driven downwards to discharge from the tube exit to form a jet/spray. Two kinds of rupture methods, namely quasi-static and dynamic processes, were tested. Flow visualizations confirmed that the gas/liquid contact surface and the generated jet/spray were quite unstable. Received: 8 December 2000 / Accepted: 20 July 2001