Wall shocks in high-energy-density shock tube experiments

Abstract

The radiative precursor of a sufficiently fast shock has been observed to drive the vaporization of shock tube material ahead of the shock. The resulting expansion drives a converging blast wave into the gas volume of the tube. The effects of this wall shock may be observed and correlated with primary shock parameters. We demonstrate this process in experiments performed on the Omega Laser Facility, launching shocks propagating through xenon with speeds above 100 km/s driven by ablation pressures of approximately 50 Mbars. Wall shocks in laser experiments, in which the principal shock waves themselves should not be radiative, are also reported—in which the wall shocks have been launched by some other early energy source.