Numerical investigation of the onset of instability of triple shock configurations in steady supersonic gas flows

Abstract

Triple configurations of shock waves that arise in a steady supersonic flow of a real gas have been numerically simulated. Previously, we have theoretically predicted that a new triple shock configuration with a negative reflection angle can appear in a gas flow at large Mach numbers and small adiabatic indices. This configuration is now obtained for the first time in numerical experiments. It is shown that the formation of this triple shock configuration leads to instability of the entire flow pattern.