2D Phenomena of Shock Wave Propagation along a Non-equilibrium Thermal Zone Formed by Surface Discharge

Abstract

Shock waves have traditionally been studied and characterized by their movement through media. And alternatively, the parameters of a medium have been successfully diagnosed by its influence on a shock-wavesmotion. The propagation of shock waves through media with various types of inhomogeneity has always been of particular interest for a wide range of application in different fields of physics, like astrophysics, laser physics, aerodynamics and many others. There are lots of experimental, theoretical and numerical studies concerning interactions of shock waves with turbulence [1], vortices [2], near-wall fine particle or dust layers [3], preshock inhomogeneities induced by non-uniform energy deposition [4], isolated bubbles [5], thermal layers [6, 7], plasma formations [8, 9], etc. These interactions are apparently mutual - not only are the dynamics and the structure of waves altered but also the properties of the medium are changed in a post shock flow. The present work studies the structure of the gas-dynamic flow resulting from the propagation of a plain shock wave along a near-wall expanding layer of the gas excited by a high-current sliding surface discharge (“plasma sheet”).