What are other names for a chocked gas release?

• A. Critical flow
• B. Turbulent flow
• C. Laminar flow
• D. Isothermal flow

Answer: (A)

Choked gas release happens when gas flowing through a restriction speeds up to the speed of sound at the narrowest point, so the flow is limited by the gas’s own characteristics rather than the downstream condition. This threshold condition is called critical flow (also known as sonic flow). Once choking occurs, the mass flow rate depends only on upstream pressure and the gas properties, not on how low the downstream pressure can go. The other terms describe flow regimes or temperature behavior, not the choking condition, so they don’t capture why the release is capped by the sonic limit.