The shock tube is a device in which a plane propagating shock is produced in a

long tube by
the abrupt rupturing of the diaphragm separating one section of the tube at
higher pressure than
that in the other section. This device, developed after a series of
studies and experiments in mid
1800s started with the realization that waves from explosions travel at a velocity
faster than the
sound waves.
In 1948 Sir George Stokes discussed the instability of finite amplitude sound
waves.
Paul Vieille (1899)
measure
d the speed of the pressure pulse generated in a glass tube
in which a thin diaphragm across a pressure ratio of 27atm was burst.
This pioneering work on
bursting diaphragm shock tube led others to follow similar experiments with
different aims.
Payman,
Sh
epherd and other colleagues of Mines Research Board did a series of
investigations
on the ignition of explosive gas mixtures by shock waves.
The first research paper making use
of shock tube was published by
the Royal Society and authored by
Payman and She
pherd
(1946).
During the post 2
nd

world war period, led by many Universities around the globe the
shock tube was developed as a tool for aeronautical research.

3.1
The shock t
ube
The shock tube
(Fig 3.1
a) is a
long tube of
uniform cross section and with u
niform internal

dimensions. The diaphragm separates the high pressure driver section from the
low pressure
driven or test section. The material of the diaphragm and its thickness are
dictated by the
pressure
ratio between the sections. On
abrupt rupturing
of the diaphragm, pressure waves
emanating from the diaphragm station coalesce to form the shock front which
propagates in to
the low pressure section. As the shock front moves in to the low pressure
section, a contact
surface which is an imaginary line of
separation between the driven and driver gases follows
the shock front.
The wave diagram of the shock tube after the diaphrag
m rupture is given in
Figure 3.1
b