Decay of a plane shock wave in a two-parameter medium with arbitrary equation of state

Abstract

Special curves, called shock polars, are frequently used to determine the state of the gas behind an oblique shock wave from known parameters of the oncoming flow. For a perfect gas, these curves have been constructed and investigated in detail [1]. However, for the solution of problems associated with gas flow at high velocities and high temperatures it is necessary to use models of gases with complicated equations of state. It is therefore of interest to study the properties of oblique shocks in such media. In the present paper, a study is made of the form of the shock polars for two-parameter media with arbitrary equation of state, these satisfying the conditions of Cemplen's theorem. Some properties of oblique shocks in such media that are new compared with a perfect gas are established. On the basis of the obtained results, the existence of triple configurations in steady supersonic flows obtained by the decay of plane shock waves is considered. It is shown that D'yakov-unstable discontinuities decompose into an oblique shock and a centered rarefaction wave, while spontaneously radiating discontinuities decompose into two shocks or into a shock and a rarefaction wave.