The dissociation rate coefficient for oxygen in argon, O 2 Ar ⇌ O O Ar, was measured using laser absorption near 216 nm in the Schumann-Runge system in a shock tube. A mixture of 2% oxygen in argon was studied behind reflected shocks at initial equilibrium temperatures from 4400 to 7900 K and pressures from 0.2 to 1 atm. The dissociation was modeled decoupled from vibrational relaxation because dissociation was evident only after the test gas mixture was near vibrational equilibrium. The dissociation rate coefficient was determined by fitting the measured oxygen absorbance time history for each experiment using temperatures based on the incident shock speed and the shock relations and adjusting the A-factor of the dissociation rate coefficient. Good agreement was found with the prior experimental work and model of Camac and Vaughan. Consistent results were also obtained for measurements with constant pressure as well as increasing pressure, validating our method to account for pressure changes by including the pressure profile in the dissociation model.
Nomenclature
Abs = absorbance A= preexponential factor in modified Arrhenius equation b = preexponential factor in modified Arrhenius equation E a = activation energy, kcal∕mol I = laser beam intensity exiting shock tube, W I 0 = laser beam intensity entering shock tube, W I o = incident intensity ratio I t = transmitted intensity ratio k d = dissociation rate coefficient (for second order), cm 3 ∕mol · s P = pressure, atm P i = initial postshock pressure, atm R = 1.9858775, universal gas constant, cal∕mol · K T eq = equilibrium temperature, K t = time, s v 0 0 = vibrational level