Instrumented Shock Tube
Reactions in Shock Waves
Our instrumented shock tube allows us to compress (and thereby heat) a highly diluted gaseous sample of a fuel
and dioxygen virtually instantaneously and to follow the complex changes that take place until the oxidation
reaction is complete and the final simple products, usually water and carbon dioxide, emerge.
By measuring the ignition delay times, that is the time interval during which nothing much appears
to be happening, we can unscramble the mechanism of the oxidation. Absorption and emission measurements are also
possible with a deuterium lamp and CCD monochromator and an intensified CCD system.
