Thermal effects on weak waves in a radiative magnetogasdynamic media

Abstract

The singular surface theory has been used to determine the behavior of weak waves under the combined influence of time-dependent gasdynamic, radiation, and electromagnetic fields. The role of thermal radiation and conduction in the growth or decay of a wave has been studied under a quasiequilibrium and quasi-isotropic hypothesis of the differential approximation to the radiative heat-transfer equation. It is shown that there are two distinct modes of wave propagation, namely, a radiation-induced wave and a modified magnetogasdynamic wave. It is observed that a radiation-induced wave decays rapidly and has a negligibly small influence on the gasdynamic field under the nonrelativistic limit, whereas a magnetogasdynamic wave grows into a shock wave under nonlinear steepening effects. Two cases of diverging and converging waves are discussed to answer the question as to when a shock wave appears. © 1987 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., All rights reserved.