Development update for the NASA Ames 16-Inch Shock Tunnel Facility

Results of ongoing developmental testing in the NASA Ames 16-Inch combustion-driven Shock Tunnel Facility are presented. Specifically, such factors as mixture composition, mixture uniformity, gas-loading methods, ignition energy, number of ignition wires, etc., are examined to determine their effect on combustion performance. A theoretically based hypothesis is introduced to help explain the cause of driver tube pressure oscillations that occur during combustion. In addition to combustion behavior, results from a recently instituted effort to develop self-breaking primary diaphragms, as well as several additional facility enhancements, are discussed.