Figure 3.

Static pressure sensors on each section of the shock tube illustrate gas filling methodology (panel on the left). The buffer and driver are filled simultaneously for the first 100 seconds. The driver is then filled to the desired pressure. The buffer is vented at about 412 seconds resulting in dual diaphragm rupture a few seconds later. The pressure values immediately before the rupture are used to determine the initial conditions. On the right the photograph illustrates the deflection of the Lexan membrane under pressure.