Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wg55d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T17:42:09.217Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The structure of normal shock waves in a binary gas mixture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2006

G. A. Bird
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Sydney

Abstract

A previous study of normal shock waves through numerical experiments with a simulated gas on a digital computer is extended to binary gas mixtures. The mixture is simulated by two sets of rigid elastic sphere molecules with the appropriate mass and diameter ratios. Velocity profile results for medium strength waves in a mixture of equal parts argon and helium are in qualitative agreement with the continuum calculations of Sherman (1960), but there is no initial acceleration of the argon in mixtures containing a very small initial mole fraction of this gas. The temperature profiles are similar to those for the velocity in that the argon profile lags behind the helium profile. However, when there is a small proportion of heavy gas, the profiles cross-over and the temperature of the heavy gas overshoots the Rankine-Hugoniot downstream value. For very strong shock waves, the overall shock thickness expressed in upstream mean free paths becomes larger, but the profiles are generally similar to those for the medium strength waves.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1968 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bird, G. A. 1967 The velocity distribution function within a shock wave. J. Fluid Mech. (to be published).Google Scholar
Center, R. E. 1967 Measurement of shock wave structure in helium-argon mixtures. Phys. Fluids (to be published).Google Scholar
Chapman, S. & Cowling, T. G. 1939 Mathematical Theory of Non-uniform Gases. Cambridge University Press.
Liu, C. Y. 1965 Phys. Fluids, 8, 1190.
Oberai, M. M. 1965 Phys. Fluids, 8, 826.
Oberai, M. M. 1966 Phys. Fluids, 9, 1634.
Sherman, F. S. 1960 J. Fluid Mech. 8, 465.