The high pressure single pulse shock tube is a unique device for investigating key reactions in combustion chemistry at extreme conditions e.g. 1000 bar and 2000 K. We generate these conditions by creating a shock wave inside the apparatus. For more details about the shock tube click here. For more information on generating shock waves click here.

The shock tube is divided into two parts, the driver and driven sections. These sections are separated by a diaphragm. The driven section is filled with the test gas and then the driver section is filled with He until the diaphragm breaks. The expansion of the driver gas generates the shock wave. For more information about the diaphragms and diaphragms section click here.

Schematic of Diaphragm section

A short time after the test gas has been heated by the reflected shock wave it is rapidly quenched. The quenching preserves the high temperature composition of the gas which is then sampled and analyzed. For details of the sampling click here. For more information about quenching click here.

Sampling rig attached to the high pressure shock tube

After the gases have been sampled from the shock tube they are analyzed by various GC and GC/MS techniques. For more information click here.

GC/MS in the high pressure shock tube laboratory

The test gas that is introduced into the shock tube is prepared before hand in high pressure mixing vessels. Before each experiment a sample of the test gas is taken for later analysis. By analyzing this pre-shock sample we can verify the mixture composition for each experiment. For details of the test gas preparation click here.

High pressure Mixing Rig

By working at very high pressures, up to 1000 bar, with dilute reaction mixtures we can maintain isothermal conditions in reaction zone of the shock tube even for strongly exothermic reactions. These isothermal conditions in combination with temperature calibrations allow us to accurately determine the temperature in the shock tube which is essential for kinetic and mechanistic investigations.  For more details about temperature calibration and chemical thermometers click here.

Temperature Calibration, 1,1,1-trifluoroethane used as the chemical thermometer

The Shock Tube