Propagation of weak shock waves in a non-ideal gas

Abstract

This paper investigates the problem of propagation of planar and non-planar weak shock waves in a non- ideal medium. The mathematical formulation developed in this work leads to a closed system of coupled transport equations which efficiently describes the strength of a shock wave and the first order discontinuities induced behind it. The influence of the parameter of non-idealness and the non planar configuration of the wavefront on the nonlinear distortion, attenuation and shock formation of pulses, are discussed in detail. An analytical expression for the shock formation distance is obtained and a direct comparison between the ideal versus the non ideal gas flow is established. Also, the usual asymptotic decay laws for weak shock are recovered. © Versita Sp. z o.o.