Investigation of dual ignition for a detonation-driven shock tunnel in forward driving mode

A detonation-driven shock tunnel is useful as a ground test facility for hypersonic flow research. The forward detonation driving mode is usually used to achieve high-enthalpy flows due to its strong driving capability. Unfortunately, the strong detonation wave front results in diaphragm fragments that disturb the test flow and scratch the nozzle or test models. In this study, a dual ignition system was developed to burst a metal diaphragm without fragmentation in the forward driving mode. A series of experiments were conducted to validate the proposed technique. The influences of the delay time setting on the test conditions were investigated in detail. Numerical simulations were also conducted to obtain a better understanding of the wave processes in the shock tube. The results showed that the dual ignition system solved the diaphragm issues in the forward driving mode. The test time was shortened due to the additional ignition close to the primary diaphragm; the smaller the delay time, the shorter the effective test time. However, a small amount of time loss is considered worthwhile because the severe diaphragm problems have been solved.