Investigation of Transmission of a Shock Wave Through Thin Films

The aim of the present experimental study is to find physical laws of shock wave transmission through thin films. A horizontal shock tube was used to produce a planar shocks with incident shock Mach numbers of M s = 1.20, 1.34, 1.39, and 1.46 onto thin polyester films. The test section of the shock tube was constructed such that it could hold either a single or multiple layers of 12.7, 25.4, or 50.8 μm thick films. High-speed schlieren photography and high-frequency pressure transducers were used to evaluate the shock wave interactions with the films and the subsequent film breakup. Following incident shock wave impingement, the transmitted and reflected shock waves displayed different strengths, depending on the incident shock Mach numbers and the film thicknesses.