Simulations of single- and two-phase shock tubes across abrupt changes of area and branched junctions

Abstract This work is devoted to the simulation of single- and two-phase shock-tubes. In particular, the interaction between pressure waves and an abrupt change of area (sudden expansion and sudden contraction) is also considered. For this purpose, the quasi 1-D Finite-Volume approach recently developed by the authors for compressible flows in pipelines is used and assessed on a variety of test-cases. The numerical solutions are compared with other numerical solutions obtained with codes as RELAP-5, WAHA or RELAP-7 or analytical solutions when available. Finally, the experimental pressure waves propagation in a network experiments is also considered. The carefully chosen test-cases assess the ability of the present approach to predict the complex dynamics of single- and two-phase pressure wave phenomena with satisfactory accuracy and efficiency.