Abstract
A flow is considered compressible when changes in fluid momentum produce important variations in fluid pressure and density, and the fluid’s thermodynamic characteristics play a direct role in the flow’s development. When the pressure variations are small enough, linear acoustic theory may apply. However, larger finite-amplitude pressure disturbances produce nonlinear effects. Compressible flows in ducts and nozzles may reach limiting mass-flow-rate values that cannot be exceeded even when the downstream pressure is decreased. Here friction and heat addition or extraction may have unexpected consequences. Supersonic flows (Mach number > 1) may also contain shock waves that induce nearly discontinuous changes in the flow’s state. In supersonic flow, downstream pressure disturbances cannot propagate upstream and oblique expansion or compression waves emanate from locations where the flow changes direction. Thus, supersonic flows are often easier to analyze than subsonic flows because the various influences of geometric features of the flow’s boundaries need not be assessed simultaneously as would be the case in subsonic flow.
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