Curved shock theory

Abstract

Curved shock theory (CST) is introduced, developed and applied to relate pressure gradients, streamline curvatures, vorticity and shock curvatures in flows with planar or axial symmetry. Explicit expressions are given, in an influence coefficient format, that relate post-shock pressure gradient, streamline curvature and vorticity to pre-shock gradients and shock curvature in steady flow. The effect of pre-shock flow divergence/convergence, on vorticity generation, is related to the transverse shock curvature. A novel derivation for the post-shock vorticity is presented that includes the effects of pre-shock flow non-uniformities. CST applicability to unsteady flows is discussed.