At shock Mach numbers Ms ∼ 16 in pure argon with initial pressures p0 ∼ 5 torr and final electron number densities ne ∼ 1017 cm−3, the translational shock front in a 10 x 18 cm hypervelocity shock tube develops sinusoidal instabilities which affect the entire shock structure including the ionization relaxation region, the electron-cascade front and the final quasi-equilibrium state. By adding a small amount of hydrogen (∼ 0·5% of the initial pressure), the entire flow is stabilized. However, the relaxation length for ionization is drastically reduced to about one-third of its pure-gas value. Using the familiar two-step collisional model coupled with radiation-energy loss and the appropriate chemical reactions, it was possible to deduce from dual-wavelength interferometric measurements a precise value for the argon-argon collisional excitation cross-section SAr Ar* = 1·0 x 10−19 cm2/eV with or without the presence of a hydrogen impurity. The reason for the success of hydrogen, and not other gases, in bringing about stabilized shock waves is not clear. It was also found that the electron-cascade front approached the translational-shock front near the shock-tube wall. This effect appears to be independent of the wall material and is not affected by the evolution of adsorbed water vapour from the walls or by water vapour added deliberately to the test gas. The sinusoidal instabilities investigated here may offer some important clues to the abatement of instabilities that lead to detonation and explosions.
Details are given of an implicit six-point finite-difference scheme for solving two-temperature, laminar, boundary-layer flows not in chemical equilibrium in ionizing argon. The analysis extends previous work by considering the radiation-energy loss and the chemical reactions due to atom-atom and electron-atom collisions in the ionizing boundary-layer and free-stream flow. Also included are variations in transport properties based on known elastic-scattering cross-sections, effects of chemical reactions, radiation-energy loss and the electric-sheath wall boundary conditions. The results are compared with dual-wavelength interferometric boundary-layer data obtained by using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer 23 cm in diameter with the UTIAS 10 × 18 cm Hypervelocity Shock Tube for shocks of initial Mach numbers Ms ∼ 13 and 16 moving into argon at a pressure p0 ∼ 5 torr and temperature T0 ∼ 297 °K. Considering the difficulties involved in solving such complex plasma flows, satisfactory agreement was obtained between analytic and experimental total-density profiles and electron-number-density profiles for the case Ms ∼ 16 and good agreement for Ms ∼ 13.
A combined experimental and theoretical investigation was conducted on the shock-tube side-wall ionizing boundary-layer induced by a shock wave moving into argon. The dual-wavelength interferometric boundary-layer data were obtained by using a 23 cm diameter Mach—Zehnder interferometer with the 10 × 18 cm Hypervelocity Shock Tube at initial shock Mach numbers of 13 and 16, an initial pressure of 5 torr and a temperature of 300° K. The plasma density and electron number density in the boundary layer were measured and compared with numerical profiles obtained by using an implicit finite-difference scheme for a two-temperature, chemical non-equilibrium, laminar boundary-layer flow in ionizing argon. The analysis included the variations of transport properties based on elastic-scattering cross-sections, effects of chemical reactions, radiation-energy losses and electron-sheath wall boundary conditions. Considering the difficulties involved in such complex plasma flows, satisfactory agreement was obtained between the analyses and experiments. A comparison was made with the flat-plate case and despite the very different velocity boundary conditions at the wall for the two flows the experimental data appear to be quite similar. The experimental bump in the profile of electron number density which was found in the flat-plate case was not found in the side-wall case. Comparisons and discussions of the results for the different types of boundary layer are presented, including a comparison between experimentally derived and analytical plasma-temperature profiles.
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