Abstract
To obtain basic data for ballast water management, we examined the lethal effects of shock waves on a marine Vibrio. In the present experiment, shock waves were generated by hitting a projectile, which had been accelerated with a single-stage light gas gun, in an aluminum container having a cylindrical well where cell suspension was tightly maintained. We compared the shock wave effects to the isolate by use of two types of target containers with 5 and 25 mm well depths respectively. In the case of the shallow well, a lethal effect of shock compression was readily observed, but this did not occur for the deep well. Detailed pressure histories showed completely different peak patterns for the two well types. The propagation process of the shock wave was also analyzed theoretically and numerically. Results suggested that the lethal effects of shock waves are closely related to a narrow, rapid pressure change that occurs initially or a broad pressure change after the initial peak, rather than to the maximum pressure value.
