Construction and Validation of a Dense Gas Shock Tube

Abstract

Results from initial tests of a shock tube designed to verify the nonclassical dynamics of Bethe-Zel'dovich-Thompson (BZT) fluids are presented. These tests employed nitrogen at pressures and temperatures required for shock-tube initial conditions that will produce nonclassical phenomena in a BZT fluid. A single-diaphragm, stainless steel shock tube is enclosed in a resistance-heated tube furnace. Each of the 16 segments of the furnace is controlled by a proportional integral differential loop to sustain a uniform temperature along the tube. Water-cooled static and dynamic pressure transducers and thermocouples are used to monitor the static initial conditions and the dynamic wave field. The nitrogen test cases are compared to the ideal gas Riemann problem. The pressure differential of the incident expansion wave matches the theoretical magnitude to within 2%, whereas the average wave speed agrees within 7%