Shock Driven Particle Transport Off Smooth and Rough Surfaces

Abstract

The behavior of respirable particles being swept off a surface by the passage of a shock wave presents an interesting but littlestudied problem. This problem has wideranging applications, from military to aerospace, and is being studied both numerically and experimentally. Here, we describe how a shock tube facility was modified to provide a dependable platform for such a study, with highly repeatable and wellcharacterized initial conditions. During the experiments, particle size distribution, surface chemical composition (that determines adhesion force between the particles and the surface), and the Mach number are closely controlled. Timeresolved visualization of the particle cloud forming after the shock passage provides insights into the physics of the flow, including the effect of the adhesion force on the growth of the cloud.