On Shock Reflection–Diffraction in a van der Waals Gas

Abstract

The problem of a weak shock, reflected and diffracted by a wedge, is studied for the two-dimensional compressible Euler system. Some recent developments are overviewed and a perspective is presented within the context of a real gas, modeled by the van der Waals equation of state. The regular reflection configuration and the detachment criterion are studied in the light of real gas effects. Some basic features of the phenomenon and the nature of the self-similar flow pattern are explored using asymptotic expansions. The analysis presented here predicts several inviscid flow properties of the real gases undergoing shock reflection-diffraction phenomenon.

Dissipative waves in real gases

“…However, for any value of ã lying in the interval 0 ≤ ã < 1, there exists a critical value b * of b, such that for values of b lying in the interval (0, b * ) the strength of the compressive shock decreases (see Figure1(b)), whereas it increases for values of b lying in the interval ( b * , 1/3); see Figure1(c). This result is very much consistent with the conclusions arrived at in[11]. Moreover, the shape of the forward facing shock (see Figures2(a) and 2(b)) as well as its decay rate (see Figures 1(a), 1(b), and 1(c)) are also influenced by the parameters ã and b.…”