A numerical study of shock wave reflections on low density foam

A continuum mixture theory is used to describe shock wave reflections on low density open-cell polyurethane foam. Numerical simulations are compared to the shock tube experiments of Skews (1991) and detailed wave fields are shown of a shock wave interacting with a layer of foam adjacent to a rigid wall boundary. These comparisons demonstrate that a continuum mixture theory describes well the shock interactions with low density foam.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1.0 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.