Engineering Commons^™

A Shock Tube For Transonic And Supersonic Aerodynamic Research, John Hopkins Atkinson

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

The purpose of building a shock tube was to give the University another research tool and demonstration instrument for aerodynamic studies since the present wind tunnel is not suitable for high velocity research. It was hoped that the shock tube might, when calibrated against theoretical flow data, prove suitable as a test facility. Te determine its usefulness as such a facility it was necessary to devise a method for measuring local velocities, investigate size effects of models in the flow and provide a check against standard wind tunnel data. The shock tube was to be built as simply and cheaply …