Two new operating conditions of the X3 superorbital expansion tube are studied experimentally and numerically. A two-stage numerical simulation is used to model the flow processes within the whole facility, from the compressed driver gas, through the initial shock-processing of the test gas and then through the unsteady expansion process to the final test flow state. Experimental measurements provide static pressure histories at particular points along the shock and acceleration tubes while the numerical simulations provide complementary information on gas density, temperature and composition. Operating condition properties such as shock speed are both observed in the experiment and produced as a result of the simulation are used to check the reliability of the numerical simulations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.