PIV tracer behavior on propagating shock fronts

Abstract

The present work was aimed at the quantitative particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement of a velocity field near the front of a propagating shock wave and the study of the dynamics of liquid tracers crossing the shock front. For this goal, a shock tube with a rectangular cross-section (48 × 24 mm) was used. The flat shock wave with Mach numbers M = 1.4–2.0 propagating inside the tube channel was studied as well as an expanding shock wave propagating outside the channel with M = 1.2–1.8 at its main axis. The PIV imaging of the shock fronts was carried out with an aerosol of dioctyl sebacate (DEHS) as tracer particles. The pressures of the gas in front of the shock waves studied ranged from 0.013 Mpa to 0.1 MPa in the series of experiments. The processed PIV data, compared to the 1D normal shock theory, yielded consistent values of wake velocity immediately behind the plain shock wave. Special attention was paid to the blurring of the velocity jump on the shock front due to the inertial particle lag and peculiarities of the PIV technique. A numerical algorithm was developed for analysis and correction of the PIV data on the shock fronts, based on equations of particle-flow interaction. By application of this algorithm, the effective particle diameter of the DEHS aerosol tracers was estimated as 1.03 ± 0.12 μm. A number of different formulations for particle drag were tested with this algorithm, with varying success. The results show consistency with previously reported experimental data obtained for cases of stationary shock waves.