The response of an underexpanded jet to a depleting finite reservoir is examined with experiments and simulations. An open-ended shock-tube facility with a variable reservoir length is used to obtain images of nitrogen-and heliumjet structures at successive instances during the blowdown from initial pressure ratios of up to 250. The reservoir and ambient pressures are simultaneously measured to obtain the instantaneous pressure ratio. We estimate the time scales for jet formation and reservoir depletion as a function of the specific heat ratio of the gas and the initial pressure ratio. The jet structure formation time scale is found to become approximately independent of the pressure ratio for ratios greater than 50. In the present work, no evidence of time dependence in the Mach disk shock location is observed for rates of pressure decrease associated with isentropic blowdown of a finite reservoir while the pressure ratio is greater than 15. The shock location in the finite-reservoir jet can be calculated from an existing empirical fit to infinite-reservoir jet data evaluated at the instantaneous reservoir pressure. For pressure ratios below 15, however, the present data deviate from a compilation of data for infinite-reservoir jets. A new fit is obtained to data in the lower-pressure regime. The self-similarity of the jet structure is quantified, and departure from similarity is noted to begin at pressure ratios lower than about 15, approximately the same ratio that limits existing empirical fits.

The response of an underexpanded jet to a depleting finite reservoir is examined with experiments and simulations. An open-ended shock-tube facility with a variable reservoir length is used to obtain images of nitrogen-and heliumjet structures at successive instances during the blowdown from initial pressure ratios of up to 250. The reservoir and ambient pressures are simultaneously measured to obtain the instantaneous pressure ratio. We estimate the time scales for jet formation and reservoir depletion as a function of the specific heat ratio of the gas and the initial pressure ratio. The jet structure formation time scale is found to become approximately independent of the pressure ratio for ratios greater than 50. In the present work, no evidence of time dependence in the Mach disk shock location is observed for rates of pressure decrease associated with isentropic blowdown of a finite reservoir while the pressure ratio is greater than 15. The shock location in the finite-reservoir jet can be calculated from an existing empirical fit to infinite-reservoir jet data evaluated at the instantaneous reservoir pressure. For pressure ratios below 15, however, the present data deviate from a compilation of data for infinite-reservoir jets. A new fit is obtained to data in the lower-pressure regime. The self-similarity of the jet structure is quantified, and departure from similarity is noted to begin at pressure ratios lower than about 15, approximately the same ratio that limits existing empirical fits.

We report on laboratory experiments examining the interaction of a jet from an overpressurized reservoir with a canonical ground surface to simulate lateral blasts at volcanoes such as the 1980 blast at Mount St. Helens. These benchmark experiments test the application of supersonic jet models to simulate the flow of volcanic jets over a lateral topography. The internal shock structure of the free jet is modified such that the Mach disk shock is elevated above the surface. In elevation view, the width of the shock is reduced in comparison with a free jet, while in map view the dimensions are comparable. The distance of the Mach disk shock from the vent is in good agreement with free jet data and can be predicted with existing theory. The internal shock structures can interact with and penetrate the boundary layer. In the shock‐boundary layer interaction, an oblique shock foot is present in the schlieren images and a distinctive ground signature is evident in surface measurements. The location of the oblique shock foot and the surface demarcation are closely correlated with the Mach disk shock location during reservoir depletion, and therefore, estimates of a ground signature in a zone devastated by a blast can be based on the calculated shock location from free jet theory. These experiments, combined with scaling arguments, suggest that the imprint of the Mach disk shock on the ground should be within the range of 4–9 km at Mount St. Helens depending on assumed reservoir pressure and vent dimensions.

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