Numerical investigations of transition between regular and Mach reflections caused by free-stream disturbances

Numerical simulations have been performed to study the influence of the free-stream disturbances on the alternation of the steady shock wave reflection configurations in the dual solution domain. Different types of disturbances have been considered. The analysis of interaction between disturbances and the incident shock wave can be substantially simplified for the localized density disturbances. It is shown that such disturbances can indeed cause the transition from regular reflection to Mach reflection and back, so that within a certain range of angles of incidence the shock wave reflection configuration can be considered as a bi-stable system. The threshold amplitude of the localized density disturbance, able to induce the transition, has been estimated theoretically. The results of numerical computations convince of higher stability of the Mach reflection in the dual solution domain compared to the regular reflection, which is in accordance with available experimental data. Received 10 May 2001 / Accepted 15 November 2001 Published online 8 July 2002