Engineering Commons^™

Ionization Of Air Produced By Strong Shocks, Howard Sajon Joyner

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation provides theoretical predictions along with experimental results for electron concentrations behind a shock as a function of Mach number over a range from 11 to 20 using a combustion driven shock tube operating in air. These theoretical predictions represent an upper bound for chemical equilibrium. The model for air was 78.0880% nitrogen, 20.949% oxygen, 0.0300% carbon dioxide, 0 .9300% argon, 0.0025%neon, and 0.0005% helium. Also the theory of a double diaphragm shock tube with corresponding pressure ratio vs. Mach number relationships is provided. A computor [sic] program using iterative techniques for a succinct presentation covering the modifications and …