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An electromagnetic transducer for the production of shock waves in air

University of British Columbia

The recent development of gas turbines, high speed aircraft, and similar machines, has made the study of shock waves of practical importance. This report concerns an electromagnetic method of producing repeated shock waves in air. The most simple shock wave generator, from a mathematical viewpoint, consists of a piston which starts from rest and moves with constant velocity into a tube containing the air. An attempt has been made here to approximate such piston motion by means of the forces acting on a conductor placed in a pulsed magnetic field. Although no shook waves have been produced, an electrical circuit has been developed to provide current pulses of the high amplitude necessary for such a device. A prototype transducer also has been constructed and tested. The report is primarily a description of this circuit. Basically, the pulse generator consists of two ignitrons, the first of which is in series with the transducer field coil and a high current source. The second ignitron is connected in such a manner that, when it is fired, it causes the extinction of the first. In this way, current pulses are passed through the field coil.

Text

2012-03-26

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/41795

Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of British Columbia

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