Probe to Measure Direction and Strength of Moving Shocks or Blast Waves
A new probe, capable of detecting the local direction of blast or moving shock waves and their strength, has been designed, fabricated, and tested. The performance of the probe has been assessed and validated in shock-tube tests, as well as in field measurements. The data obtained were also compared with computational fluid dynamics calculations with satisfactory results. The probe is sensitive to the incoming shock and flow direction. Its directional response is, to a certain extent, similar to that of a single pressure transducer. However, the ability to determine the shock wave direction provides better estimates of the pressure measurements behind the shock. In that respect, the present probe maybe characterized as omnidirectional. Evaluation tests of the algorithm developed to detect the direction and strength of blast waves indicated that the direction could be estimated within 5 deg of the true direction