Flow Modes in Electric Shock Tubes

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Abstract
Electric shock tube flow has been studied at low pressures, after cessation of the powering discharge, in a 4‐in.‐diam tube. Three modes of plasma flow down the tube are found: (1) a diffusion type of flow below 10 μ, (2) flow with a single luminous front, and (3) flow with a separated shock front and contact surface. The criterion for the appearance of flow with a separated shock wave appears to be Taylor stability of the contact surface. Since electric shock tube flow is always decelerating strongly, this occurs when the driver density becomes less than that of the shocked gas layer immediately ahead. As a result separated shock flow is more likely the weaker the powering discharge, the higher the ambient pressure, the less the erosion of the electrodes, and the further downstream one observes. These considerations are also found to be consistent with the observed behavior of a medium and a high‐pressure shock tube.

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