Cavitation experiments using a water shock tube

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Abstract
A new method of generating a tension pulse in a liquid column is described. The test liquid (deionised water) is contained in the lower part of a sealed vertical tube, the upper part of which contains a combustible gaseous mixture. When a detonation wave is initiated in the gas it is propagated down the liquid column as a compressional wave. At the base of the column, which is supported by a thin Mylar diaphragm, this pulse is reflected as an upward-going tension pulse. The pressure changes in the liquid are monitored by pressure transducers mounted in the wall of the tube and the cavitation bubbles are studied using schlieren photography techniques. The measured value of the breaking tension agrees well with those of other dynamic methods.