Studies of the Effects of Cross-Sectional Area Change and Boundary-Layer Growth on the Motion of a Shock Wave

Citation

Russell, David Allison (1961) Studies of the Effects of Cross-Sectional Area Change and Boundary-Layer Growth on the Motion of a Shock Wave. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/HXQP-VQ30. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-11212003-155010

Abstract

Three problems concerned with the motion of a shock wave are discussed. The first is an analytical and experimental study of the performance of a shock tube with area change near the diaphragm. Interesting results of this section are the development of a simple shock-speed control through the use of area change, and the fact that a spread-out dissipation region was shown to exist for a configuration where a non-stationary secondary shock wave was originally expected. A general discussion of the use of this type of area change is also included. The second problem is a study of the effects of boundary-layer growth on the motion of a shock wave. A simple theory for predicting the attenuation of a shock wave on entering an upstream-facing tube is developed from the analysis of Spence and Woods. When simple laminar boundary-layer approximations are applied, the theory shows good agreement with measurements. The final problem is an experimental study of the motion of a shock wave downstream of a finite-length area contraction. Normalized results are presented which show that the shock wave emerges from the area change at a speed close to the "linearized" theory value, and is then attenuated by second-order disturbances until it reaches the speed predicted for the steady-state configuration. The results are presented in a form which is shown to be insensitive to both the incident shock Mach number and the amount of the area reduction.

Thesis Files