Focusing shock waves generated by an accelerating projectile

Abstract

Unsteady flow fields past a projectile either in parabolic motion or in accelerated motion are investigated numerically, with special attention to shock wave focusing phenomena induced by the motions. The two-dimensional Euler equations are solved by a moving-cell, MUSCL TVD finite-volume method with Steger-Warming flux-vector splitting. The pattern of shock wave focusing induced by the projectile is found to be similar to that of shock waves reflected from a concave wall observed in a laboratory experiment using a shock tube. Effects of projectile shapes and trajectories on focusing are also examined.