Water Droplet Breakup Experiments using Acoustic Levitator at Upper Atmospheric Conditions in a Shock Tube

The deformation and breakup of water droplets impacted by a shock wave can vary depending on a wide range of conditions. An acoustic levitator is designed to allow for the suspension of water inside of a shock tube during an experiment. These experimental studies investigate the droplet breakup mechanism resulting from Mach 2.3-2.6 shock waves impacting an acoustically suspended droplet using distilled water droplets and polystyrene-doped water droplets. High-speed imaging, deformation over time plots, and OH emissions are used to analyze the droplet breakup. The presence of cavitation during droplet breakup is considered when performing analysis.