Measurements of pressure in front of shock wave : assessment of methodology influence on the measurement results on the basis of experiments with the shock tube

The experiments, described in the article, are related to research of a rotating detonation that has been conducted in the Institute of Aviation in Warsaw since 2009, under the OPIE project: “Turbine engine with detonation combustion chamber”. Measurements of the shock wave parameters, are among the most difficult in the art. This is due to high speed of the wave transition, and above all, a very small thickness of the shock wave. For the purposes of the mentioned project, a methodology for measuring pressure on the rotating detonation wave was developed. It included the type of sensors, their location and their protection from heat and flames. In order to determine the capabilities, limitations and accuracy of the method that was used, a series of experiments were planned and carried out. They enabled the assessment of the impact, on the measurement of pressure in the shock wave, of the following factors: the location of the sensor (frontal and lateral) relative to the shock wave front, protrusion or retraction of the sensor in its housing, the covering of the sensor with a protective layer (such as a high temperature silicon). This paper presents the results of the experiments that were carried out with use of a small shock tube of a simple design. The high-pressure part of the tube (so-called “driver”) was charged with the compressed nitrogen gas. The membrane was designed to be torn by pressure and pressure magnitude of the shock wave were measured by a “twin pair” of the Kistler 603B type piezoelectric sensors, one of which was always the reference sensor.