This paper explores the operating envelope for the University of Queensland’s free-piston driven X2 expansion tube to determine if flow conditions can be produced that generate a significant magnetohydrodynamic interaction. Numerical calculations are presented to demonstrate the existence of viable operating conditions to study magnetohydrodynamics. Argon is selected as the test gas due to its simple chemistry and low ionization enthalpy. A candidate flow condition is selected for detailed analysis and experimental validation. Finite-rate reacting argon numerical simulations indicate that relatively short shock-layer length scales for the models tested in X2 limit the degree of argon ionization that is generated. However, a strong interaction remains available, and use of a larger facility can fully mitigate this issue. It is shown that expansion tubes are capable of generating the required flowfield for these experiments, and important considerations for design of suitable test flows are identified.

本文探讨了昆士兰大学的自由活塞驱动的X2膨胀管的工作范围，以确定是否可以产生能够产生明显的磁流体相互作用的流动条件。数值计算表明了研究磁流体动力学的可行工作条件的存在。选择氩作为测试气体是因为其化学性质简单且电离焓低。选择候选流动条件进行详细分析和实验验证。有限速率反应氩气数值模拟表明，对于在X2中测试的模型，较短的冲击层长度尺度会限制所产生的氩离子化程度。但是，仍然可以使用强大的交互功能，使用较大的设备可以完全缓解此问题。