ON A DUSTY GAS SHOCK TUBE*

Abstract Analytical and numerical methods were used to investigate the flow induced by a shock wave in a shock tube channel containing air laden with suspended small solid particles. Exact results are given for the frozen and equilibrium shock wave properties as a function of the diaphragm‐pressure ratio and shock wave Mach numbers. The driver contained air at high pressure. A modified random choice method, together with an operator‐splitting technique, shows clearly the decay both of a discontinuous frozen shock wave and of a contact discontinuity and the formation both of a stationary shock structure and of an effective contact front of finite thickness. The effects of particle diameter, particle‐number density, and diaphragm‐pressure ratio on the transitional behavior of the flow are investigated in detail. The alteration of the flow properties owing to the presence of particles is discussed thoroughly and compared with classical shock tube flows.