A SHOCK TUBE FOR PRODUCING SUBSONIC, TRANSONIC, AND SUPERSONIC FLOWS FOR AERODYNAMIC TESTING

A shock tube is proposed in which the flow conditions between the shock wave and advancing interface are expected to range from low subsonic to moderate supersonic speeds. Furthermore, testing times of 10 msec or more are predicted, a time quite adequate for aerodynamic force measuremeats. The driven section in the proposed facility is large enough to ac-comodate large scale models. To test the feasibility of the proposed tube, a shock tube was assembled using a surplus 7-foot diameter vacuum tank as a driven section and 12-inchflangedpipe for the driver. A series of tests were performed to determine shock formation time and experimental testing time. Th