Expansion Tube Tunnel
A wind tunnel for conducting tests at hypervelocity. The fluid (normally air) at high pressure, and usually involving rapid combustion to increase energy, is released by rupturing a diaphragm and accelerating through an evacuated working section containing the model.
The major difference between a shock tube and an expansion tube is that in an expansion tube the isentropic flow is exact.
See also: Hypervelocity, Shock Tunnel, Wind Tunnel.
Subjects: Aerodynamics