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The document discusses oscillations and waves, focusing on simple harmonic motion (SHM) and its characteristics, including the differential equations governing SHM. It also covers the concepts of free oscillations, damped oscillations, and forced oscillations, detailing their behaviors and mathematical representations. Additionally, it explains the significance of spring constants in mechanical oscillators and the effects of damping on oscillatory motion.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
2 views21 pages

PDF&Rendition=1

The document discusses oscillations and waves, focusing on simple harmonic motion (SHM) and its characteristics, including the differential equations governing SHM. It also covers the concepts of free oscillations, damped oscillations, and forced oscillations, detailing their behaviors and mathematical representations. Additionally, it explains the significance of spring constants in mechanical oscillators and the effects of damping on oscillatory motion.

Uploaded by

Chethan Arindam
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Module-1
OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES

Introduction:

Oscillations and vibrations refer to motions or changes in the state of a physical systems back and forth
over the same path about an equilibrium position with respect to time. oscillations play a more
significant role in our lives than we realize. When you strike a bell, the metal vibrates, creating a sound
wave. All musical instruments are based on some method to force the air around the instrument to
oscillate. Oscillations from the swing of a pendulum in a clock to the vibrations of a quartz crystal are
used as timing devices.

1.1 SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

It is a Special Type of Periodic Motion in which the restoring force is directly proportional to the
Displacement and acts in a direction opposite to that of displacement.

Examples: 1. Oscillations of simple pendulum


2. Vibrations of atoms in a molecule
[Link] of the prongs of an excited tuning fork

Differential equation of Motion for Simple Harmonic Motion

Consider a body of mass m executing Simple Harmonic Motion. Let F be the restoring force acting on
the mass and 𝑥 is the displacement of mass.
Restoring force α – displacement
F = -k 𝑥---- (1)
Here k is the proportionality constant known as spring constant. It represents the amount of restoring
force produced per unit elongation and is a relative measure of stiffness of the material.

By Newton's Second Law of Motion, F=ma--- (2)

From equations (1) and (2) we have


𝟐
𝒅 𝒙
𝒎 = -k𝑥
𝒅𝒕𝟐

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Thus, the Differential Equation of SHM becomes,

Put “k/m=ω2”, where “ω” is the angular frequency,

This is the differential equation of motion for a body executing linear SHM.

The solution of above equation is 𝒙 =asin𝝎𝒕

When there are no external forces, the oscillations are said to be free oscillations. The mass
oscillates with its natural frequency.
𝑑𝑥
Velocity of particle VMax = 𝑑𝑡 = −𝜔𝐴
dv
Acceleration of particle = = − 2 x
dt
𝑘
𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦𝜔 = √𝑚
𝑚
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 = 2𝜋√
𝑘
𝑃ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 = 𝜔𝑡
1 𝑘
𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = √
2𝜋 𝑚

Characteristics of Simple Harmonic Motion


1) SHM is periodic, oscillatory, and sinusoidal.
2) Amplitude is constant with time
3) The oscillating system must have inertia
4) The body must have acceleration in a direction opposite to the displacement and the
acceleration must be directly proportional to displacement.
5) The restoring force acting on the body always tries to bring it back to its equilibrium position.
6) The Simple harmonic motion is represented as x=asin𝜔𝑡

Page 2
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Mechanical Simple Harmonic Oscillator:

We consider a mechanical spring which resists compression / elongation to be elastic. At the lower end
of the spring, a body of mass m is attached. Mass of the spring is neglected. When the body is pulled
down by a certain distance x and then released, it undergoes SHM.

Force constant or Spring constant: Force constant K is defined as the external force applied to an
elastic body to produce unit deformation within the elastic limit.

The S.I unit of force constant is Newton/meter.

In the case of oscillating bodies, the natural frequency of oscillations is directly proportional to the
force constant. Higher the force constant, higher is the total energy stored in an oscillator.

Significance: It is a measure of the stiffness of the spring, it represents how much force it takes to
stretch the spring over unit length. Thus, springs with larger value for force constant will be stiffer.

Expression for Spring Constant for Series Combination

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Consider two springs S1 andS2 with spring constants k1 and k2 respectively. Let x1 be the extension in
𝐹
S1. From Hooke’s law F=-𝑘1 𝑋1 therefore 𝑋1 = − 𝑘 and x2 be the extension in S2.
1

𝐹
Similarly, F=-𝑘2 𝑋2 𝑖. 𝑒 𝑋2 = − 𝑘
2

Both the springs experience same stretching force. The total extension 𝑋 = 𝑋1 + 𝑋2 . Let the force
constant for the series combination is F= -X𝑘𝑠

Total elongation is given by

𝑋 = 𝑋1 + 𝑋2 ----- 1

Substituting the values of 𝑋 , 𝑋1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑋2 in equation 1

−𝐹 −𝐹 −𝐹
= +
𝑘𝑠 𝑘1 𝑘2

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= +
𝒌𝒔 𝒌𝟏 𝒌𝟐

𝒎
The time period of oscillation will be T=2𝝅√𝒌
𝒔

Expression for Spring Constant for Parallel Combination

Consider two springs S1 and S2the Same Springs with spring constant k1 and k2 respectively. Let
𝑋1 𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑋2 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.
Let 𝐹𝑝 be the restoring force acting on the support and the force constant for this combination 𝑘𝑝 .
𝐹𝑝 =- 𝑘𝑝 x
The restoring force 𝐹𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.
𝐹𝑝 =𝐹1 + 𝐹2
=- 𝑘1 𝑋1 − 𝑘2 𝑋2
Let both the springs undergo same extension x, 𝑋1 = 𝑋2= X

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS

−𝑘𝑝 x= −(𝑘1+ 𝑘2 ) x
𝒌𝒑 = (𝒌𝟏 + 𝒌𝟐 )

𝒎
The time period of oscillation will be T=2𝝅√𝒌
𝒑

FREE OSCILLATIONS
The oscillation of a body or system with its own natural frequency and under no external influence
other than the impulse that initiated the motion are called “FREE OSCILLATIONS” .
Example
Oscillations of a spring, Vibrations of a pendulum and Vibrations of a tuning fork.

“m” is the mass

“x” is the displacement

“t” is the time


“k” is the Force Constant of the Oscillator

1.2 Damped Oscillation: Is a type of SHM, where in the body oscillates under the influence of
external disturbances like friction, air resistance, gravity etc. As result, the amplitude of the
oscillations decreases continuously and finally die with passage of time.

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Characteristics

[Link] Forces Opposes Motion

[Link] Dissipation of Energy

3. Diminishing Amplitude with Each Oscillation

Theory of Damped oscillations:


Consider a spring mass system subjected to Force is as shown in the figure. The forces that act on body
includes. The damping force always acts in a opposite directions to that of motion of oscillatory body
and velocity dependent. Fdam=-rv Where r =damping coefficient
The restoring force F = -kx, where k= force constant

For equilibrium of the system, the accelerating force of mass m is equal to the external force.

F= Fd +Fre
𝒅𝟐 𝒙 𝒅𝒙
𝒎 𝒅𝒕𝟐 = - 𝒓 - 𝒌𝒙
𝒅𝒕

For the oscillating mass in a medium with resistive coefficient R, the equation of motion is given by

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS

𝑑2 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑚 𝑑𝑡 2 + 𝑘𝑥 + 𝑟 𝑑𝑡 = 0
𝑑2𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑚 2 +𝑟 + 𝑘𝑥 = 0
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑 2 𝑥 𝑟 𝑑𝑥 𝑘
+ + 𝑥 = 0 − −1
𝑑𝑡 2 𝑚 𝑑𝑡 𝑚
𝑟 𝑘
𝐿𝑒 = 2𝑏; = 𝜔2
𝑚 𝑚
𝑑2𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2
+ 2𝑏 + 𝜔2 𝑥 = 0 − −2
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
This is a homogeneous, linear differential equation of second order.

Let the solution of the equation is 𝑥 = 𝐴𝑒 𝛼𝑡

Then differentiating with respect to t


𝑑𝑥 𝑑2 𝑥
= 𝛼𝐴𝑒 𝛼𝑡 and 𝑑𝑡 2 = 𝛼 2 𝐴𝑒 𝛼𝑡
𝑑𝑡

and substituting the values in the equation 1 we get

The auxiliary equation is 𝛼 2 + 2𝑏𝛼 + 𝜔2 = 0

The roots are 𝛼 = −𝑏 + √𝑏 2 − 𝜔 2 and = −𝑏 − √𝑏 2 − 𝜔 2

The solution can be derived as 𝑥(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑒 (−𝑏+√𝑏 + 𝐵𝑒 (−𝑏+√𝑏


2 −𝜔 2) 𝑡 2 −𝜔2) 𝑡

Case 1: 𝑏>𝜔 OVER DAMPING

Case 2: 𝑏<𝜔 UNDER DAMPING

Case 3: 𝑏=𝜔 CRITICAL DAMPING

Discussion of over damping, Critical damping and Under damping:

Case-1. Over damping/dead beat: The condition for over damping is 𝒃 𝟐 > 𝝎𝟐. Oscillations are
said to be over damped or heavy damped when the system attains equilibrium state quite slowly without
making oscillations.

Case-2. Under damping. The condition for under damping is 𝒃 𝟐 < 𝝎𝟐 Oscillations are said to be under
damped when the amplitude of oscillations decreases with respect to time.

Page 7
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Case-3. Critical damping. The condition for critical damping is 𝒃 𝟐 = 𝝎𝟐 Oscillations are said to be
critically damped when the system attains equilibrium state quite quickly without making any
oscillations.

Under damped Over damped Critically damped

Page 8
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

1.3 FORCED OSCILLATIONS

are the oscillations executed by the body with the frequency of the external periodic force with
constant amplitude, but not with its natural frequency.

Example- Vibration of machine tools, electric bells, Periodic variation of current in LCR circuit and
pushing swing.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FORCED OSCILLATIONS

[Link] external force continuously supplies energy to the oscillator and hence aids motion.

[Link] oscillator in general oscillates with a frequency different from natural frequency.

3. Amplitude of oscillations remains constant when steady state is achieved.

Page 9
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Theory of FORCED OSCILLATIONS (Amplitude and Phase of Forced oscillations)

F=Fsinpt

Consider a spring mass system subjected to sinusoidal Force function, equal to Fsinpt.

The term F refers to amplitude of applied force. The forces that act on body includes

The damping force always acts in a opposite directions to that of motion of oscillatory body and
velocity dependent. Fdam=-rv

The restoring force F = -k x

Applied force in the downward direction Fsinpt

The total force F= Fdam +Fres +Fapplied

F=-rv -Kx+ Fsinpt

Let F = FSinpt be the oscillating applied force


The equation of motion is given by
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = −𝑘𝑥 + 𝑟𝑣 + 𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑝 𝑡

Page 10
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

𝑑2𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑚 2 + 𝑟. + 𝑘𝑥 = 𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑝 𝑡
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑2 𝑥 𝑟 𝑑𝑥 𝑘 𝐹
2
+ + 𝑥 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑝 𝑡
𝑑𝑡 𝑚 𝑑𝑡 𝑚 𝑚
𝑟 𝑘 𝐹
𝐿𝑒 = 2𝑏; = 𝜔2 ; = 𝑓
𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
𝑑2 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
+ 2𝑏 𝑑𝑡 + 𝜔2 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑝 𝑡 …..(1)
𝑑𝑡 2

Let one particular solution be 𝑥 = 𝐴. 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃)

𝑑𝑥
= 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑2𝑥
= −𝑝2 𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃)
𝑑𝑡 2
Also

𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑝 𝑡 = 𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃 + 𝜃)
= 𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃) 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 + 𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑠( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃) 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃

Substituting in (1)

−𝑝2 𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑃𝑡 − 𝜃) + 2𝑏𝐴𝑃 𝑐𝑜𝑠( 𝑃𝑡 − 𝜃) + 𝜔2 𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑃𝑡 − 𝜃)


= 𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃) 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 + 𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑠( 𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃) 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃

Comparing coefficients of 𝑠𝑖𝑛( 𝑃𝑡 − 𝜃)𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝑝𝑡 − 𝜃) on both sides

𝐴(𝜔2 − 𝑝2 ) = 𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃
2𝑏𝐴𝑝 = 𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃

∴ 𝑓 2 = 𝐴2 (𝜔2 − 𝑝2 )2 + 4𝑏 2 𝐴2 𝑝2
𝑓 2𝑏𝑝
𝐴= − 𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝜃 = 2
√(𝜔 2 − 𝑝2 )2 + 4𝑏 2 𝑝2 (𝜔 − 𝑝2 )

𝑭
Case (1): For p≪ 𝝎, A= 𝒎
𝜃 =tan-1(0) =0
𝛚𝟐

The displacement and force will be in same phase.

Page 11
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

𝑭
π
Case (2): For p= 𝝎, A= 𝒎
𝜃 =tan-1(∞) = 𝟐
𝟐𝒃𝒑

The displacement phase lags 𝜋 /2 with respect to phase of applied force.

𝑭
Case (3): For p ≫ 𝝎 , A= 𝒎
𝜃 =tan-1(-0) = 𝜋
𝒑𝟐

The displacement phase lags by 𝜋 w.r.t phase of applied force.

1.4 Resonance: is the frequency with which the body oscillates when the natural frequency of the
body is equal to the frequency of the external periodic force acting on the body. At resonance the
energy transfer from external periodic force is maximum and the amplitude is also maximum.

Conditions for resonance:


𝑓
The amplitude of forced vibrations is given by the equation 𝐴 = −
√(𝜔 2 −𝑝2 )2 +4𝑏 2 𝑝2

1. The frequency of the applied force (p) must be equal to the natural frequency(𝜔) of oscillations of
the body.
2. b = R/ 2𝑚 must be minimum or Damping caused by the medium must be minimum.
The above two conditions proved theoretically as follows.
If A in equation (1) has to be maximum, the denominator term must be minimum.
𝑑
[(𝜔2 − 𝑝2 )2 + 4𝑏 2 𝑝2 ]=0
𝑑𝑝

diff w.r.t to P
2(𝜔2 − 𝑝2 )x-2p +8 𝑏 2 p = 0
Dividing by 4p we get (𝜔2 − 𝑝2 )= 2𝑏 2 or 𝑝2 = 𝜔2 - 2𝑏 2
𝑓
Amax = −
√(𝜔2 −𝑤 2 )2+4𝑏2 𝑝2

Amax = 𝐹/𝑚/ 2𝑏𝜔 This is the required expression where f=F/m

Page 12
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Sharpness of Resonance:
The sharpness of resonance is the ratio of change of amplitude (∆𝑎) to corresponding small change in
frequency (∆𝜔) of the applied external periodic force, at the stage of resonance.

Sharpness of resonance = 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒/ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐y


𝐹
𝑚
=
2𝑏𝜔𝑝
Effect of damping on sharpness of resonance:

b=0

Amplitude

Low b

Large b

Frequency

The variation of amplitude of forced oscillations with respect to damping is as shown in the graph
diagram. From the graph it is clear that the maximum amplitude at resonance is a function of damping.
Higher the damping lower will be the amplitude at resonance. Thus, the sharpness will be higher at
lower damping and vice-versa is the significance.

▪ The sharpness of resonance depends inversely on b.

▪ Smaller the value of b, sharper is the resonance.

▪ Greater the value of b flatter is the resonance as shown in the figure.

EXAMPLES OF RESONANCE

1. The vibrations caused by an excited tuning fork in another nearby identical tuning fork

2. Setting up of standing waves in Meld’s string.

Page 13
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Quality factor

It is customary to describe the amount of damping with a quantity called the quality factor (Q). It is
defined as the ratio of energy stored in the oscillator to the energy dissipated per cycle by damping
process.
ω
Mathematically Q =2𝑏

SIGNIFICANCE OF QUALITY FACTOR


The Q-factor determines the qualitative behavior of simple damped oscillators.
A system with low Q-factor is overdamped with no oscillations and exponential decay to equilibrium.
A system with high quality factor is underdamped and oscillates with decaying amplitude.
A system with quality factor Q=0.5 is critically damped with no oscillations.

Page 14
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Shock waves

Introduction
Fluid dynamics is the study of fluids at rest or in motion. It has traditionally been applied in such areas
in the design of canal, dam systems, pumps, compressors in refrigerators, air conditioning systems,
aerodynamics of automobiles and air planes, ocean phenomena such as tornadoes, hurricanes and
tsunami etc.

1.6 Definition
Shock waves are the strong pressure waves produced by explosion, lighting or supersonic aircraft in
an elastic medium such as air, water or a solid substance.
Examples: Lighting strokes in a thunder storm and Tsunami etc.,

Mach number

It is defined as the ratio of speed of the object to the speed of sound in the given medium. It is a
dimensionless parameter, denoted by the letter M.
𝑉
M=𝑎 where V=Velocity of object and a=velocity of sound in a particular medium

Subsonic speed Vobject < V sound Mach number <1

Sonic speed Vobject = V sound Mach number = 1

Supersonic speed V object > V sound Mach number >1

Transonic Mach number 0.8 -1.2

Hypersonic Mach number >5

1.7 Classification of waves


Ultrasonic wave: Sound waves of frequency greater than 20,000Hz.

Acoustic waves: A longitudinal wave that consists of a sequence of pressure pulses propagating in a
medium. The speed of an acoustic wave in a material medium is determined by the temperature,
pressure, and elastic properties of the medium.

Page 15
ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Subsonic waves: are the mechanical waves which travels with a speed lesser than that of sound. All
subsonic wave has Mach number less than 1.

Ex: Low intensity shock waves produced during the motion of ordinary aircrafts.

Supersonic waves: are the mechanical waves which travel with speeds greater than that of sound. All
supersonic wave has Mach Number Greater than 1

Ex: shock waves produced during the motion of jet planes, bullets etc.

Transonic waves: These are shock waves with Mach number less than 1in the range 0.8 to 1.2

Hypersonic waves: These are shock waves with Mach number greater than 5. Research is being carried
out to develop engines named “scram jets” which can fly at speeds of Mach number 5.

Mach angle: Shock waves propagate as a cone. The semi vertical angle of the cone of shock waves is
known as Mach angle (µ). µ = sin-1(1/M)

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS

1.8 Properties of shock wave

1) Shock waves are non linear waves that travel in any medium with speeds greater than the
speed of sound.i.e., M>1
2) Shock waves do not form or propagate in vacuum
3) Shock waves obey the laws of fluid dynamics.
4) Shock waves exit in the medium of propagation confined to very thin space of thickness
< 1μm.
5) They physically travel through any medium though energy is dissipated fast.

1.9 Conservation Laws

Equation of continuity/Law of conservation of mass: The total mass of any isolated system remains
unchanged and is independent of physical and chemical change that could occur within the system

𝜌1 U1= 𝜌2 U2

Where ρ1 , ρ2 and U1, U2 are the densities and Velocities.

Law of conservation of energy / Bernoulli’s equation:

The total energy of a closed system remains constant and is independent of any changes occurring
within the system

𝑼𝟏 𝟐 𝑼𝟐 𝟐
𝒉𝟏 + += 𝒉𝟐 + 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝑡
𝟐 𝟐
Where h1 , h and U1 , U2 are the Enthalpies and Velocities.

Law of Conservation of Momentum

The total momentum of the object before collisions= total momentum of the objects after collision.

𝑝1 + 𝜌1 𝑢12 = 𝑝2 + 𝜌2 𝑢22

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜌1 , 𝜌2 , U1, U2 & 𝑝1, 𝜌2 are the densities, Velocities and pressures.

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS

2.0 Reddy shock tube:


It is a hand operated shock tube used to produce shock waves by using human energy.

Construction:

❖ It consists of a cylindrical stainless-steel tube of about 30 mm in diameter and of length about


1 meter.
❖ It is divided into two sections each of length about 50 cm. One is called driver section and
the other one is driven section. The two sections are separated by 0.1 mm thick aluminium or
Mylar or paper diaphragm.
❖ Far end of driver section is fitted with a piston whereas the far end of the driven section is
closed.
❖ A digital pressure gauge is fixed in the driver section next to the diaphragm.
❖ Two piezoelectric sensors S1 and S2 separated by 70 mm are mounted towards the closed end
of the shock tube.
❖ The driver section is filled with a gas called as the driver gas which is held at a relatively high
pressure due to the compressing action of the piston. A port is provided at the closed end of
the driven section for filling the test gas to the required pressure. The gas in the driven section
is termed as driven gas or test gas.

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Working:

The piston is pushed harder to compress the driver gas to such an extent to cause the diaphragm
to rupture. the driver gas now rushes into the driven section and pushes the driven gas towards the
far end of the driven section. This generates a moving shock wave that travels along length of the
driven section. The shock wave instantaneously raises the temperature and pressure of the driven
(test gas) gas when the shock moves over it. The propagating primary shock wave is reflected
from the downstream end. After the reflection, the test gas undergoes further compression which
increases temperature and pressure to still higher values. This state of high values of pressure and
temperature is maintained at the downstream end until an expansion wave reflected from the
upstream end of the driver tube arrives there and neutralizes the compression partially. The
pressure rise caused by the primary shock waves and also the reflected shock waves are sensed as
signals by the sensors and are recorded in a digital cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO). The recordings
are used to calculate pressure, temperature and Mach number of shock waves.

2.1Characteristics of Reddy tube

1. It is hand operated shock producing device.


2. It works on the principle of free piston driven shock tube
3. It is capable of producing Mach number 1.5
4. Temperature exceeding 900k can be easily obtained by using Helium as driver gas and argon
as the driven gas.

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2.2Explain the Applications of shock waves

1. Kidney stone treatment:

Shock wave is used in a therapy to crush the kidney stones into smaller pieces after which, they are
passed out of the body smoothly through the urinary tracts.

2. Shock wave assisted needleless drug delivery:

By using shock waves, drugs can be injected into the body without using needles. The drug is filled
into a cartridge which is kept pressed on the skin & the shock wave is sent into the body using high
pressure. The drug enters the body directly through pores of the skin. In this process, the patients do
not experience any pain.

[Link] preservation

By using shock waves, chemical preservatives in the form of solutions could be pushed into the interior
of wood samples which helps in withstanding the microbial attacks. By this method the life of ordinary
wood can be increased.

[Link] dynamics studies:

The extreme conditions of pressure and temperature that can be produced in the shock tube, helps us
to the study of high temperature gas dynamics.

Mention the Applications of shock waves

 Aerodynamics – hypersonic shock tunnels, scramjet engines.


 High temperature chemical kinetics – ignition delay
 Rejuvenating depleted bore wells
 Material studies – effect of sudden impact pressure, blast protection materials
 Investigation of traumatic brain injuries
 Needle-less drug delivery
 Wood preservation

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