Atria Institute of Technology

Studies on Shock Waves

Produced by Reddy Tube

Under the guidance of Mr. Nagesh

Naveen T
Prashanth Madankar
1AT11ME070
Sarvesh Nagashetty
1AT11ME085
Vinay M Y

1AT11ME065

1AT11ME098

ABSTRACT
In this project we will be studying the shock waves in Reddy tube and increase its strength using mechanical
lenses.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) will be used to arrive at optimum configurations for focusing shock
waves and the best configuration will then be experimentally tested.

MACH NUMBER AND FLOW REGIMES

The ratio of the speed of a moving object (u) to the speed of sound (c) in a fluid gives rise to one of the most
important dimensionless quantities in the field of aerodynamics. The ratio is known as the Mach number (M) in
honor of Ernst Mach (18381916), the Moravian physicist, psychologist, and philosopher who studied sound and
ballistics.
M=u/c
If the Mach number is less than 0.8, it is known as subsonic flow.
If the Mach number is between 0.8 and 1.2, it is known as transonic flow.
If the Mach number is greater than 1.2, it is known as supersonic flow.
If the Mach number is greater than 5, it is known as hypersonic flow.

SHOCK WAVES
Shock waves are mechanical waves of finite amplitudes and arise when matter is subjected to
rapid compression.

Conical shock waves around a jet plane made visible by condensation

These are produced by sudden release of energy (like in explosions or volcanic

eruptions) by bodies moving at supersonic speeds or by impact of high speed
projectiles or by laser ablations.

Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a
medium. It is characterized by abrupt change in pressure, temperature and density of
medium.

APPLICATIONS OF SHOCK WAVES

Needle-less drug delivery system.

Lithotripsy.
Design of bomb suits.
Preservative impregnation into wood.
Oil extraction from hard wood, medicinal plants and oil seeds.
In genetic transformation where a DNA is introduced into the cell without damaging the living cell.
To remove micron size dust particles from silicon wafer surfaces.
In material science.
High temperature chemical kinetics.

SHOCK TUBE
A shock tube is a simple device that is used to generate a shock wave in a controlled
environment.

The schematic of a shock tube is given in figure. It consists of a driver section and a driven
section separated by a diaphragm. The pressure in the driver section of the shock tube will be
increased to rupture the diaphragm creating a shock wave in the driven section. The strength can
be represented by Mach number.

REDDY TUBE

Schematic diagram of the 29mm diameter Reddy tube indicating the locations of pressure sensors. b. Photograph of fully
assembled, modified Reddy tube with pressure gauges mounted for measuring the shock speed and the diaphragm rupture pressure

It is a hand operated shock producing device.

It operates on the principle of free piston driven shock tube (FPST).
It is capable of producing Mach number exceeding 1.5.
The rupture pressure is a function of the thickness of the diaphragm.
Temperatures as high as 900K can be easily obtained by the Reddy tube

WORKING OF REDDY TUBE

It consists of a 29 mm inner diameter stainless steel tube divided into a 490 mm long driver section and 500 mm
long driven section separated by a diaphragm.
The diaphragms used in this Reddy tube are made of 0.1 mm thick aluminium/ 90-95 grade tracing paper.
Rupture pressure can be varied by varying the number of foils paced at the diaphragm station.
The diaphragm rupture pressure in the driver section is generated manually by pushing a 29mm diameter
piston.
This rupture pressure is monitored using a digital pressure gauge mounted close to the diaphragm station.
The speed of the shock wave inside the driven section is measured using the pressure jump obtained at the two
piezoelectric pressure gauges.

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD)

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has emerged as a complementary tool for studying fluid flows, wherein
the governing equations of fluid dynamics are solved using numerical techniques typically with a computer
program.
In this study a commercial code ANSYS-CFX will be used. The first step in CFD is to generate the geometry of
the flow domain model.
Then, the domain is divided into a number small volumes (called Mesh).
The initial and boundary conditions are setup and the governing equations are solved.
ANSYS-CFX uses a coupled multi grid algorithm for solving the discretized fluid flow equations which are
important to get stable solutions for complex flows such as the ones generated in the shock tube. The CFD code
will first be validated for predicting the flow in the Reddy tube.
Configurations to focus the shock wave will be devised and these configurations will first be studied using CFD
and the best of these configurations will be experimentally tested in the Reddy tube.