Simulation of shock wave propagation in gas discharge plasma regions

Abstract

Based on numerical simulation the results of shock waves (SW) propagation through gas discharge plasma are presented (wave acceleration, change of the wave front structure, etc.). Experiments show that discharge plasma is mostly (i) non-uniform (ii) non-equilibrium (iii) non-stationary. All the factors influence SW propagation in plasma regions. The most important is usually related with the spatial non-uniformity of the gas density in the discharges due to heating. In molecular gases an additional factor exists: the vibrational-translational non-equilibrium. Both these factors lead to SW acceleration, but their effects on the SW intensity are quite different. In many experiments on shock waves (SW) propagation through gas discharge plasma some interesting effects have been observed, among them acceleration of the wave in the discharge region, dispersion of its front, formation of precursors, etc. (see [1,2] and references therein). Gas discharge plasma is normally non-uniform, non-equilibrium and non-stationary. For example, in broad range of experimental conditions microwave discharge has a form of successively developing plasma layers with temperature 1000 3000K (Fig.1).