High Enthalpy, High Pressure Short Duration Testing of Hypersonic Flows

In hypervelocity flows the speed of the considered fluid is much larger than the speed of sound. Commonly the hypersonic flow regime is considered to start above a Mach number of M=5. Ground based testing of such flows is performed in many different types of facilities. The reason for this is the large range of flow conditions and phenomena encountered in hypersonic flight and the fact that no single facility can simulate all relevant flow parameters simultaneously. In the present chapter, the basic working principle of different types of shock tunnels and shock expansion tunnels, the special aspects of measurement techniques in such short duration facilities with test times of approximately 5 milliseconds and less and some selected typical applications in existing facilities will be discussed