Mobile Shock Tube

ARA’s Littleton, Colorado facility is the base for our mobile shock tube (MST). Housed inside a 50-foot trailer, our 18-inch-diameter shock tube (seen below) is easily transported to any research facility to provide on-site test services. This capability enables advanced medical facilities across the country to conduct blast testing while maintaining a shock wave that is consistent across studies in areas such as protective equipment and biological models.

The MST utilizes compressed gas to replicate the pressure wave produced in a free field blast environment. Built with an 8-foot-long expansion cone, the MST can accommodate large test articles, including those the size of a full-body porcine model or a full-size human head, without blocking the tube. Acoustic suppressors are used to minimize external impulse noise during testing, allowing the MST to be parked in close proximity to vivariums or medical facilities without causing a safety hazard. The blast loads generated by the shock tube have been verified against free field blasts of the same magnitude.

If required, additional instrumentation can accompany the mobile shock tube to provide full-scale blast-testing on-site. When fully instrumented, the system can collect over 100 simultaneous channels of data acquisition at rates up to two million samples per second. Access to an assortment of commercial and custom test devices for use as test surrogates or platforms to support other test articles are available as needed.