A Study of the Dependence of the Mach Stem Height on the Trailing Edge Height

Abstract

The Mach stem height is an important parameter in the Mach reflection of steady supersonic flow. Various experimental, numerical, and theoretical works have been conducted to study this parameter in the past. However, much of the established work focuses around a single set of trailing edge heights. Here, we perform a study to show the dependence of Mach stem height on the trailing edge height for a wider range of geometry. Through numerical simulation for a set of trailing edge heights, we found that the normalized Mach stem height is almost linear with respect to the normalized wedge trailing edge height. The parameter used for normalization can be either the inlet height or the length of the lower wedge surface. The observation of this linear trend is justified through a simplified analysis, which leads to an expression of the Mach stem height that linearly depends on the trailing edge height. The present study extends our knowledge about how the geometry affects the Mach stem height, and provides a basis for future work to elaborate analytical models for Mach stem height.

Keywords

• gas dynamics
• shock waves
• shock reflection