Decay of Shock Waves Propagating in a Kinked Exhaust Pipe

In the present paper the decay of shock waves propagating in a kinked exhaust pipe was investigated by numerical simulations based on the TVD scheme. In order to clarify the validity of the present computational model, the numerical results on blast waves propagating in a kinked duct were compared with the experimental ones. Various initial conditions as well as mesh sizes were examined to simulate exploding wire experiments. Shock wave geometry based on computed density contours showed qualitatively good agreement with the schlieren photographs. Measured pressure changes across the shock front also showed good agreement, when they were compared quantitatively with computations on the upper and the lower walls, and on the center line along the ducts. The present simulation model putting a narrow high pressure region as initial conditions in a duct was useful to simulate blast wave propagation.