Shock Waves

Mach number-Mach number is used to classify speed of bodies moving in any medium. Mach number is
the ratio of the speed of object to the speed of sound in the given medium.
𝑂𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑
𝑀𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 =
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
Or,
𝑣
𝑀=
𝑎
Mach number is the ratio of speed. So it does not have any unit. It gives a measure of how fast a body is
moving with respect to the speed of sound. It is a pure number and dimensionless parameter.
Speed of sound-The speed of sound ‘a’ in air or any gas medium at a temperature T(in Kelvin) is given
by,
Where γ – ratio of specific heats, R – specific gas constant and T – local temperature
Acoustic waves –An acoustic wave is simply a sound wave. Sound waves or audible waves are
longitudinal waves that propagate by means of adiabatic compression and rarefaction (sound
waves).These waves travels with the speed of 330 m/s, having frequency of 20Hz-20kHz. They produce
sensation of sound on entering our ear. Amplitude of acoustic wave is very small. They travel at Mach 1
(i.e., local speed of sound).
Ultrasonic waves-Sound waves (longitudinal) waves having frequencies greater than 20kHz. The
wavelength of ultrasonic waves are very small as compared to audible sound.. Ultrasonic waves are
highly energetic. Their speed of propagation increases with increasing frequency. Amplitude of the
ultrasonic waves is also small. These waves are used in Drilling, welding, Cleaning, SONAR (Sound
navigation and Ranging.
Subsonic waves-Mechanical waves produced by any object moving with the speed less than the speed of
sound is called Subsonic Waves. It has Mach number less than 1.i.e. M<1. Examples: Speeds of almost
all the vehicles such as motor cars or trains that we see moving on the road, speed of flight of birds
produces subsonic waves. For a body moving with subsonic speed, the sound emitted by it manages to
move ahead and away from the body and Information regarding the movement of object/fluid is
transmitted quicker than speed of motion. Fluid can ‘sense’ the presence of the body ahead.

Supersonic waves-Supersonic waves are mechanical waves which travel with speed greater than that of
sound. Supersonic conditions occur for Mach numbers greater than one i.e. M>1.Fighter planes can fly
with supersonic speed. Amplitude of supersonic waves will be high and it affects the medium in which it
is travelling. A body moving with supersonic speed moves faster than information transfer. Absence of
upstream influence necessitates the action of shock waves to deflect the flow.

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Fluid can ‘sense’ the presence of th

Mach Angle- A number of common tangents drawn to the expanding sound waves emitted from a body
with supersonic speed formulate a cone called the Mach cone. The angle made by the tangent with axis of
the cone is called the Mach angle 𝜇 which is related to the Mach number through the equation, µ =
1
sin−1 𝑀

Hypersonic waves-Supersonic waves travelling with speeds for which Mach number≥5 are called
hypersonic waves.
Transonic waves- when there is a change of speed from subsonic to supersonic, there is speed range
which overlaps on the subsonic and supersonic ranges i.e. 0.8<M<1.2, this is called transonic range.
Shock waves- Shock waves are produced when the velocity of any object is increased from subsonic to
Supersonic. Shock waves can’t be heard, we hear a BOOMING sound. This is called as Sonic Boom
velocity of the object is increased from subsonic to Supersonic.

Mach number range Regime of flow Characteristics

0 < M < 0.3 Incompressible Flow density unchanged

Velocity lower than local

M<1 Subsonic
speed of sound

Mixed features of subsonic

0.8 < M < 1.2 Transonic
and supersonic

Velocity higher than local

M>1 Supersonic
speed of sound

Special classification of
M>5 Hypersonic supersonic flows with
unique properties

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Characteristics of Shock Waves
1. Shock waves can be produced by a sudden dissipation of mechanical energy in a medium
enclosed in small space. In nature shock waves are produced during earth quakes and when
lightning strikes.
2. Any fluid that propagates at supersonic speeds, gives rise to a shock waves hence their mach
number is greater than 1.
3. Shock waves obey the laws of fluid dynamics.
4. The effects caused by shock waves increase the entropy of the system.
5. Any shock wave is a surface that manifests as a discontinuity in a fluid medium in which it is
propagating with supersonic speed.
6. Shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can
propagate through a medium.
7. Shock waves are characterized by an abrupt change in the characteristics of the medium.
8. The pressure, temperature, velocity and density increase across a shock and become
discontinuous.
9. Shock waves arise at explosions, detonation, supersonic movement of bodies, powerful electric
discharge.
10. Shock waves are identified as strong (high Mach no) or weak (low Mach no) depending on the
magnitude of instantaneous change in pressure and temperature.
11. Shock waves are pressure pulses of duration of a few microseconds.
Shock waves can be
(i) Normal: at 900 to shock medium’s flow direction
(ii) Oblique: at an angle to the direction of flow.
(iii) Bow: Occurs upstream of the front of a blunt object.

Normal shock wave Oblique shock wave Detached (bow) shock

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Methods of creating Shock waves in lab
1) Reddy Shock Tube
2) Using High Pressure Gas cylinder
3) By Detonation
4) Combustion
5) Using Small charge explosives

Applications of Shock Waves

1. Cell information- By passing shock waves of appropriate strength, DNA can be pushed inside a
cell and functionality of DNA will not be affected by impact of shock waves.
2. Kidney stone treatment-Shock waves are used in medical therapy in orthopedics and for
breaking kidney stones.
3. Treatment of dry bore wells-In treatment of dry bore wells. Shock waves clear the blockage and
rejuvenate the bore well into water source.
4. Wood Preservation- Using shock waves, chemical preservatives in the form of solutions could
be pushed into the interior of wood samples such as bamboo.
5. Needle-less drug delivery-By using shock waves drugs can be injected into body without using
needles.
6. Gas dynamics study- The extreme conditions of pressure and temperature that can be produced
in the shock tube, enables the study of high temperature gas dynamics.
7. Shock waves are used in pencil manufacturing industries. They are also used to extract oil from
sandalwood.
Reddy Shock Tube
It is hand operated shock tube capable of producing shock waves by using human energy.

Principle- The Reddy tube operates on the principle of free piston-driven shock tube.
Construction
It is a stainless steel tube of 1m length & 30mm diameter. It has 2 sections Driver section & Driven
Section about 50cm each, separated by 0.1mm Aluminum or Paper diaphragm. It has a piston at far end of
the driver section and other end of the driven section is closed or open. There is digital pressure gauge in
the driver section & 2 piezoelectric sensors {S1 & S2} about 70 mm apart in the driven section. The

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driver section is filled with a gas termed as driver gas which is held at relatively high pressure due to
compressing action of the piston. The gas in the driven section is termed as driven gas.
Working of a shock tube
The driver gas is compressed by pushing the piston into the driver tube till the diaphragm ruptures. The
driver gas rushes into the driven section generating the moving shock wave which travels the length of the
driven section. This raises the pressure & temperature of the driven gas. Shock strength is decided by
driver to driven pressure ratio, and type of gases used. The propagating primary shock wave is reflected
from the downstream end and reflected shock waves boost the temperature and pressure of the driven gas
to still higher values. This state of high values of pressure and temperature are sustained until an
expansion wave reflected from upstream end of the driver tube neutralizes the compression. The
expansion waves are created when the diaphragm is ruptured and they travel in the direction opposite to
shock waves. The pressure raise are sensed as signals by sensors S1 & S2 are recorded in digital CRO.
Since the duration of the experiment is in the order of milliseconds a CRO with the bandwidth of 1 MHz
is required.

Typical pressure signals

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To measure the speed of primary shock directly, two pressure sensors are mounted near the end of the
shock tube. The distance between the sensors can be physically measured. Let it be X. When primary
shock passes over these sensors, steep rise in the voltage output will be recorded. The time delay between
the two rises, denoted by t gives the time taken for the shock wave to travel from sensor 1 to sensor 2
separated by X. Therefore, the speed with which primary shock is moving can be directly calculated as:

Two step rise in the each signal indicate the pressure rise (P2-P1) due to the forward moving primary
shock wave and pressure rise (P5-P1) due to the reflected shock wave moving in the opposite direction
due to the reflection at the end of the shock tube.
Characteristics of Reddy Tube
1. Normally, manual generation of strong shock waves is very rare.
2. It operates on principle of free piston driven shock tube (FPST).
3. Hand operated shock producing device. Driver gas is compressed using a piston (plunger) and
hand power.
4. The Reddy tube can generate repeatable shock waves of around Mach 1.5 just using manual
power.
5. It is a miniature, table-top shock tube which uses tracing paper as the diaphragm material.
6. The rupture pressure is function of thickness of diaphragm
7. Temperature exceeding 900 K can be produced using He as driver gas and Ar as driven gas. This
temperature is useful in chemical kinetic studies.
Basics of conservation of mass, momentum and energy
Conservation means the maintenance of certain quantities during physical process. Conservation laws
apply to closed system.
Law of conservation of mass: It states that the total mass of any isolated system remains constant and is
independent of any physical and chemical changes that could occur within the system.
Law of conservation of momentum: It states that in any closed system, the total momentum always
remains constant. When two objects collide in an isolated system, the total momentum of the objects
before collision=the total momentum of the two objects after the collision.
Law of conservation of energy: It states that the total energy of a closed system always remains constant
and is independent of any changes that could occur within the system.
The normal shock wave is the strongest form of a shock wave, aligned perpendicular to the flow
direction. These waves decelerate the supersonic flow to subsonic velocity and causes sudden increase in
the static values of pressure, temperature and density of the flow. This is adiabatic process, but
irreversible.

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Consider a shock wave propagating with a speed with v in a shock tube.

Control Volume: It is an imaginary thin Envelope that surrounds the shock front within which there is
sharp increase in the pressure, temperature and density.
Consider two regions with reference to shock front, one which is ahead of shock front and the other
behind it. Let P1, T1, 1 and h1 be the values of pressure, temperature and enthalpy before creation of
shock wave. Hence, these conditions prevail in region ahead of shock wave. Let P2, T2, 2 and h2 be the
corresponding values after the diaphragm ruptures i.e. after primary shock waves. Hence they are
applicable in the region behind it. Both the regions are far enough distances from shock front so that
equilibrium is maintained in the two regions, where physical conditions such as pressure, temperature,
density etc. are uniform.
Then three conservation laws are stated in the following way:

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