Investigation of the acceleration of aluminum particles behind a shock wave using instantaneous Laser Doppler Velocimetry

The acceleration of aluminum particles with a 5μm diameter in the flow field behind an incident shock wave was investigated experimentally in a 10-m long and 70 mm inner diameter shock tube. By means of instantaneous Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) the velocity of the particles was observed directly. The light scattered by the moving particles is Doppler shifted and sent to the laser Doppler velocimeter. The velocimeter essentially consists of a phase-stabilized Michelson interferometer used as a sensitive spectrometer. An electro-optical circuit ensures the phase stabilization that results in a voltage signal independent of the scattered light intensity and proportional to the mean velocity of the particles at the measurement point. Because of the very short response time (1μs) of the LDV system used here, the latter gives a continuous real-time signal of the particle acceleration. To avoid particle oxidation the particles were accelerated by a high-speed nitrogen gas flow. From the measured velocity the dimensionless drag coefficient was calculated. The drag coefficient is related to the fluid dynamic force exerted by the gas on the particles. The experimental data were compared to theoretical models from the literature. A significant deviation between the model and the experimental data was observed. This deviation is supposed to be induced by the shock wave, which hits the particles and breaks them into pieces of a smaller diameter. Further experiments will be carried out in the future to check the size distribution of the particles after the shock has gone past them.