StudiesonShockWavesProducedbyReddyTube

ABSTRACT
Shock tubes are usually used to produce shockwaves in the laboratory.
Reddytubeisahandoperateddevicecapableofproducingshockwavesexceeding
Machnumber1.5.TheshockwavesgeneratedbyReddytubehavemanyscientific
application. Since this shock tube is hand operated, these waves are of low
strength. In order to increase the strength of the shock waves it is necessary to
focustheshockwaves.
In this project we study the shock waves and increase their intensity by
focusing with mechanical lenses. Computational Fluid Dynamics will be used to
arrive at optimum configurations for focusing shock waves and the best
configurationwillthenbeexperimentallytested.

INTRODUCTION
FLOWREGIMESANDSHOCKWAVES

Theratioofvelocityofaflowinstillairtothatofthelocalspeedofsoundin
that medium gives rise to one of the most important dimensionless quantities in
thefieldofaerodynamics.ThisratioiscalledtheMachnumber,generallydenoted
byM,namedafternotedphysicistErnstMach.

M=u/a
Where,
MistheMachnumber,
uisthevelocityofflow,
aisthespeedofsoundinthemedium.

IftheMachnumberislessthan0.8,itisknownassubsonicflow.
IftheMachnumberisbetween0.8and1.2,itisknownastransonicflow.
IftheMachnumberisgreaterthan1.2,itisknownassupersonicflow.
IftheMachnumberisgreaterthan5,itisknownashypersonicflow.

Shock waves are mechanical waves of finite amplitudes and arise when
matterissubjectedtorapidcompression.Theseareproducedbysuddenrelease
ofenergy(likeinexplosionsorvolcaniceruptions)bybodiesmovingatsupersonic
speedsorbyimpactofhighspeedprojectilesorbylaserablations.Likeanordinary
wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a medium. It is
characterizedbyabruptchangeinpressure,temperatureanddensityofmedium.
Ashocktubeisasimpledevicethatisusedtogenerateashockwaveina
controlledenvironment.Itbasicallyconsistsoftwolongtubesseparatedbyasolid
metaldiaphragm.Ononesideofthisdiaphragm,agasisfilledtoapressurehigh

enough to rupture the metal diaphragm and the pressure in the other tube is
reduced to a value lower than the atmospheric pressure. The former side is
termedasthedriversideandthelattersidetermedasthedrivenside.

EXPERIMENTALSETUP

Fig 01: a. Schematic diagram of the 29mm diameter Reddy tube indicating the locations of pressure
sensors. b. Photograph of fully assembled, modified Reddy tube with pressure gauges mounted for
measuringtheshockspeedandthediaphragmrupturepressure.

The Reddy tube consists of a 29mm inner diameter stainless steel shock
tube divided into a 490mm long driver tube and 500mm long driven tube
separatedbya0.1mmthickaluminumdiaphragm.Alongdrivertubeensureslate

arrivaloftheexpansionfan,whichenablesachievingatesttimelongerthan500
microseconds.
Thediaphragmrupturepressureinthedriversectionisgeneratedmanually
by pushing a 29mm diameter piston. This rupture pressure is monitored using a
digitalpressuregaugemountedclosetothediaphragmstation.Thespeedofthe
shockwaveinsidethedriventubeandthepressurejumpbetweentheprimaryand
reflectedshockwavesaremeasuredusingtwopiezoelectricpressuregauges.
Theshockwavesarepassedthrougheitheranaluminummirrororthrough
strutswhichareplacedattheendofthedrivensectionoftheshocktube.Atthe
convergingpoint,thepressureismeasuredusingasetofpiezoelectrictransducers.

VISUALIZATION

Fig02:Schematicoftheexperimentalarrangementfortheschlierenvisualizationofflowfield.

Shock waves are characterized by a considerable change of density of the

fluidasitcrossesthefeatures.Amethodofflowvisualizationknownasschlierenis
adopted to be used in conditions characterized by density gradients. The word
schlieremeansstreakinGerman.
Theexperimentalsetupusesaconcavemirrortorenderparallellightfroma
point source by keeping the point source at the focal length of the mirror. This
parallel light is refocused to a point using a similar concave mirror, where the
image is captured using a high speed camera. A sharp blockage, termed as the
knifeedge,iskeptatthisfocalpointsothatitcutsabouthalftheintensityofthe
lightformingtheimage.

FOCUSINGOFSHOCKWAVES

The Reddy tube is an easy and safe way to produce shock waves. From
previousliteraturesofKPJReddy,theintensitiesofshockwaveproducedbyhand
operated shock tubes are low. It is possible to increase this intensity by focusing
theshockwavesusingaluminummirrorsorstruts[1].Inthisprojectweproposeto
enhance the strength of shock wave produced by the Reddy tube. Schlieren and
pressureprobesareusedtomeasuretheshockwaves.
ThefirststudyonfocusingofshockwaveswasdonebyGuderleyin1942 [2].
Later, Perry and Kantrowitz conducted experiments in order to study the
convergenceofcylindricalshockwavesbyusingateardropshocktube[3].


Fig03:SchematicrepresentationofaTearDropShockTubeforfocusingashockwave.

Sturtevant and Kulkarny, in 1976, used a parabolic reflector to study the

complexbehaviorofshockwavesinafocalregion.Inthisintensiveexperimental
study,shockwaveswereboughttoafocalregionbyreflectingaplaneshockwave
fromthesurfaceofareflector[4].
Takayama and Watanabe, in 1989, studied the convergence of cylindrical
shock waves in shock tubes with an annular section. One of the most interesting
observations of this study was the formation of square shock waves in the final
stagesofconvergenceprocess[5].

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICS

ComputationalFluidDynamics(CFD)hasemergedasacomplementarytool
for studying fluid flows, wherein the governing equations of fluid dynamics are
solvedusingnumericaltechniquestypicallywithacomputerprogram.Inthisstudy
acommercialcodeANSYSCFXwillbeused.ThefirststepinCFDistogeneratethe
geometry of the flow domain model. Then, the domain is divided into a number

smallvolumes(calledMesh).Theinitialandboundaryconditionsaresetupand
thegoverningequationsaresolved.ANSYSCFXusesacoupledmultigridalgorithm
for solving the discretized fluid flow equations which are important to get stable
solutionsforcomplexflowssuchastheonesgeneratedintheshocktube.TheCFD
codewillfirstbevalidatedforpredictingtheflowintheReddytube.
Configurations to focus the shock wave will be devised and these
configurationswillfirstbestudiedusingCFDandthebestoftheseconfigurations
willbeexperimentallytestedintheReddytube.

CONCLUSION

The shock waves generated by the Reddy tube will be studied closely and
configurationstointensifythegeneratedshockwaveswillbeanalyzedusingCFD
simulations,followingwhichtheywillbeexperimentallytested.

BIBILOGRAPHY
[1]

ReddyKPJExperimentsonshocktubeusingReddytube.

[2]

ReddyKPJandSharathNManuallyOperatedPistonDrivenShockTubeP.172,CurrentScience,Vol.104,No.2.

[3]

PerryRWandKantrowitzA1951TheProductionandStabilityofConvergingShockWaves.Pg.878886.

[4]

SturtevantBandKulkarnyVAThefocusingofShockWaves,FluidMech.Pg.651671,1976.

[5]

TakayamaK1989InternationalWorkshoponShockWavesFocusing,TohokuUniversityShockWaveResearch
Center,Sendai.