Motion of triple configuration of shock waves with formation of wake behind branching point

Abstract

If three developing shock-wave fronts come together at one point the laws of conservation connecting the parameters of the gas in the vicinity of this point give an overdetermined system of equations. To remove the possible contradiction it is necessary to increase the number of initial parameters. As a rule, the assumption of the presence of a contact discontinuity emerging from the branching point is sufficient. It is also possible for two contact discontinuities to develop which form two shock waves with respect to the branching point opposite the boundary of the isobaric region filled with gas in a state of rest. Such a region is called the wake of the triple point by analogy with the aerodynamic wake for flow around bodies with flow separation. A closed system of five simultaneous differential equations which describes approximately the dynamics of a stream containing a branched system of shock waves with a developing wake behind the triple point is derived and discussed in the report.