Unsteady triple-shock configurations and vortex contact structures initiated by the interaction of an energy source with a shock layer in gases

Abstract

The effect of physical and chemical properties of the gaseous medium on the formation of triple Mach configurations and vortex contact structures and on the stagnation pressure and drag force dynamics has been studied for supersonic flows with external energy sources. For the ratio of specific heats that varies in a range of 1.1–1.4, a significant (up to 51.8%) difference has been obtained for the angles of triple-shock configurations in flows at Mach 4 past a cylindrically blunted plate. When studying the dynamics of the decreases in the stagnation pressure and drag force, it has been revealed that these effects are amplified and the vortex mechanism of drag reduction starts to prevail as the adiabatic index decreases.