Effect of precursor radiation on the flow structure and ionization behind the shock front in inert gases

Abstract

The problem of the propagation of strong, intensely radiating shock waves in inert gases is considered. It is shown that the heating of the shock tube walls by the precursor radiation, accompanied by an increase in the temperature of the adjacent gas, leads to the transverse stratification of the medium and to the disturbance of the one-dimensionality of the flow of shock-heated gas behind the wave front. Ionization kinetics calculations which take this into account indicate an acceleration of ionization near the tube walls, which is consistent with experiment. On the basis of the gas heating values obtained it is possible to establish critical values of the gas pressures ahead of the front and the shock wave Mach numbers, transition through which is accompanied by a radical restructuring of the flow with the formation of a λ configuration.