Head-On Collision of Spherical Shock Waves

Abstract

Some experimental results are presented of colliding shock waves and the associated spherical flows generated by the blasts from two high‐pressure gas spheres. Glass spheres, 2 in. in diam, with their centers located 9 in. apart, containing air or helium up to 500 psi were used to produce the explosions. Instantaneous spark shadowgrams, multi‐spark schlieren photographs, and wave‐speed schlieren records of the radius‐time plane indicate that this method can be used successfully to study such interactions.