The spread of breathing air from wind instruments and singers using schlieren techniques

In this article, the spread of breathing air when playing wind instruments and singing was investigated and visualized using two methods: (1) schlieren imaging with a schlieren mirror and (2) background-oriented schlieren (BOS). These methods visualize airflow by visualizing density gradients in transparent media. The playing of professional woodwind and brass instrument players, as well as professional classical trained singers, were investigated to estimate the spread distances of the breathing air. For a better comparison and consistent measurement series, a single high and a single low note as well as an extract of a musical piece were investigated. Additionally, anemometry was used to determine the velocity of the spreading breathing air and the extent to which it was still quantifiable. The results presented in this article show there is no airflow escaping from the instruments, which is transported farther than 1.2 m into the room. However, differences in the various instruments have to be considered to assess properly the spread of the breathing air. The findings discussed below help to estimate the risk of cross-infection for wind instrument players and singers and to develop efficacious safety precautions, which is essential during critical health periods such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Wall pressure unsteadiness in an over-expanded single expansion ramp nozzle

To evaluate the unsteady nature of wall pressure in an over-expanded single expansion ramp nozzle, under fixed nozzle pressure ratio (NPR) of 5.92, 6.55 and 7.19, an experimental investigation has been conducted based on focusing Schlieren techniques and dynamic pressure measurement. For all cases, the results show fully formed restricted shock separation (RSS) on the upper wall, which experiences flow reattachment on the wall downstream of separation resulting in the formation of a separation bubble. The separation mode is also RSS on the lower wall at [Formula: see text]. However, the lower wall pressure is randomly larger or lower than ambient pressure near the nozzle exit at [Formula: see text], the separated shear-layer can intermittently impinge on the lower wall, and the separation mode is partially restricted shock separation (pRSS). At [Formula: see text], the separation flow does not reattach downstream of the lower wall. That is, it occurs free shock separation (FSS).

Analysis and modelling of unsteady shock train motions

The characteristics and mechanism for unsteady shock train motions were experimentally studied in a constant-area rectangular duct. High-speed Schlieren techniques and high-frequency pressure measurements were utilized in this research. The results show that the shock train undergoes periodical motions in response to downstream periodical excitations. The mechanism for unsteady shock train motions is that the shock train keeps changing its moving speed to change the relative Mach number ahead of shock train to match the varying back-pressure condition. It can be found that the unsteady shock train motion can be predicted well with a theoretical model, which is based on this mechanism. A correlation between the amplitude of shock train motions and some flow parameters was illustrated using an analytical equation, which was confirmed by the experimental results.