Computational analysis of shock tube operation and simulation of Mach 6 shock tunnel

Recent development in the field of aerodynamics have led to the studies of short duration high enthalpy flows. Such studies enable to simulate real time conditions that are encountered by aerospace vehicles at supersonic and hypersonic speeds. Shock tunnels are used for researches in the field of high-speed flows where shock tubes are used to generate shock waves that propagate through the test gas raising both its temperature and pressure. The present work is done to numerically simulate the shock tunnel of Mach 6. A reference shock tube is initially solved using a 2D transient solver and validated with published results. In the validation, flow development and shock movement are captured as well as shock wave boundary layer (SWBL) interaction is observed in detail. Hence the triple point behavior is studied for the reflected shock wave. Validation results are in good agreement with published results. Two combinations are analyzed using helium and air as driving gases with air as driven gas. It is shown that peak pressures for helium are higher than air as noted in literature. Finally, the shock tube is attached to a Mach 6 test circuit with a nozzle and test section. The results indicate that a stable and uniform Mach 6 flow is developed inside the test section.