Shock Waves; Rarefaction Waves; Equations of State

Abstract

In a fluid, gradients in pressure, velocity, and/or temperature will induce motions in the fluid. Energy is transferred within the fluid, and may also be transferred to the materials that surround the fluid. Energy transfer processes include actual motion of the fluid, viscous flow processes, heat conduction, surface tension, diffusion of matter, radiation, etc. One of these processes often dominates the energy transfer, and the others can be neglected. In high-speed flow of compressible fluids, such as that produced by detonating explosives or by high-speed impact, the transfer of energy is almost all by motion of the fluid, with very little influence of viscosity and other mechanisms. In what follows all energy transfer by means other than fluid motion is neglected. A further simplification is to treat solids like aluminum or iron as fluids, with the strength completely neglected. This drastic approximation is also used throughout this chapter, and usually agrees well with experiment.