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Computational study of the unsteady flow characteristics of a micro shock tube

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Abstract

Micro shock tubes are widely employed in many micro instruments which require high speed and high temperature flow field. The small flow dimension introduces additional flow physics such as rarefaction effects, viscous effects etc, which makes the micro shock tube different from conventional macro shock tubes. In the present study, a numerical investigation of the flow physics associated with shock propagation and reflection inside micro shock tubes was carried out using unsteady Navier Stokes equations. Maxwell’s slip boundary conditions were incorporated to simulate the rarefaction effects produced due to low pressure and very small length scale. The effect of initial pressures on the shock propagation was investigated keeping the pressure ratio constant. The dependency of the shock tube diameter on shock propagation was also investigated. The results show that shock strength attenuates drastically in a micro shock tube compared to macro shock tubes. The viscous boundary layer becomes a governing parameter in controlling micro shock tube wave propagations. The implementation of slip velocity to model rarefaction effects increases the shock strength and aids in shock wave propagation. The simulation with slip wall exhibits a wider hot zone (shock-contact distance) compared to no-slip simulation. The contact surface propagation distance reduces under the slip effects. A drastic attenuation in shock propagation distance was observed with reduction in diameter. The shock wave when reflected from the end wall inhibits the rarefaction effects, generally happening at very low pressure micro shock tubes, and the associated slip effect vanishes for the post reflected shock flow field.

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Correspondence to Heuy Dong Kim.

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Recommended by Associate Editor Do Hyung Lee

Heuy-Dong Kim received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Kyungpook National University, Korea, in 1986 and 1988, respectively. He then received his Ph.D. from Kyushu University, Japan, in 1991. Dr. Kim is currently a Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Andong National University, Korea. His research Interests include high-speed trains, ramjet and scramjet, shock tube and technology, shock wave dynamics, explosions and blast waves, flow measurement, aerodynamic noises, and supersonic wind tunnels.

Arun Kumar.R received his B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University, India in 2008. He is currently doing his Masters course in Andong National University, Korea. His research interests include computational fluid dynamics and shock wave dynamics.

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Arun, K.R., Kim, H.D. Computational study of the unsteady flow characteristics of a micro shock tube. J Mech Sci Technol 27, 451–459 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-1259-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-1259-9

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