Shock tube coupled to the time-of-flight mass spectrometer via a molecular beam sampling system

A method for continuous mass spectrometric analysis of high-temperature reacting gas mixtures is described. The apparatus consists of a unique combination of three devices: the shock tube, the time-of-flight mass spectrometer, and the supersonic molecular beam. The driven section of the shock tube constitutes the reservoir of a supersonic molecular beam by which gas is continuously extracted from the reaction zone and introduced through a two-stage high-capacity vacuum system into the ionization region of the mass spectrometer. The shock tube and the mass spectrometer are coupled at right angles to one another. This configuration avoids excessive pressure buildup in the mass spectrometer system. The apparatus has an estimated mass resolution of 100 amu, a frequency range of 10-100 kHz, and can be operated over a wide range of shock conditions during the complete high-temperature pulse.