Shock Wave Interaction Studies in a Double-Ended Opposing Driver Electromagnetic Shock Tube

摘要

The head-on collisions of Mach 20 - 23 ionizing shock waves in argon at an initial pressure of 115 microns Hg were experimentally investigated. The shock wave collisions were created in a double-ended opposing driver electromagnetic shock tube. Shock wave speeds were obtained using photometric techniques. Plasma time-resolved atom and ion number densities and temperatures were obtained from spectroscopic analysis of emission radiation using a spectrograph equipped with a photoelectric attachment. Photographs of visible luminous phenomena associated with the incident shock waves and shock wave collisions were obtained with an image converter camera. The plasma behind the incident shock waves was found to be a mixture of driver and driven gas. Correlation of photographic and spectroscopic results for shock wave collisions indicated that reflected shock wave/incident shock wave boundary layer interaction occurred resulting in reflected shock wave bifurcation. (Author)