Numerical shock propagation in non-uniform media

Abstract

A general numerical scheme is developed to calculate the motion of shock waves in gases with non-uniform properties. The numerical scheme is based on the approximate theory of geometrical shock dynamics. The refracted shockfronts at both planar and curved gas interfaces are calculated. Both regular and irregular refraction patterns are obtained, and in particular, precursor-irregular refraction systems are found using the approximate theory. The numerical results are compared with recent theoretical and experimental investigations. It is shown that the shockfronts determined using geometrical shock dynamics are in good agreement with the actual shock waves.