Shock-induced detonation wave driver for enhancing shock tube performance

An existing pressure-driven hypersonic shock tunnel at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) was converted to a detonation-driven shock tube. The specific goal was to create a test environment to investigate electrical properties of high-pressure seeded air plasmas to support development of a test facility concept involving the use of MHD augmentation of high-pressure arc heaters for hypersonic engine testing. The existing shock tunnel is described along with the modifications for conversion to the detonationdriven mode of operation. Experimental performance data are presented for both electric arc-induced and shock-induced detonation modes of operation. The detonation driver will be a permanent addition to the shock tunnel facility, and estimates of the performance improvement for the detonation-driven mode of operation are presented.