Shock wave mitigation propagating through a cavity

Abstract

In the present paper, the propagation of a planar shock wave through a ’ Y ’ bifurcation duct with a trap added is both experimentally and numerically studied. Experiments were conducted in a square cross-section shock tube for three differents shock wave Mach numbers. A specific test section having a ’ Y ’ bifurcation was installed at the end of the shock tube. Pressures were recorded at different locations of the device using piezo-electric pressure transducers. The present study focuses on the mitigation of the pressure level induced by the propagation of a shock wave in the device with the addition of trap (cavity) located along the model. With the support of numerical simulations we show that both the location and geometric aspect ratio of the trap have a significant influence on the pressure level prevailing in the duct system.