Investigation of the properties of a shock wave arising in a supersonic flow of plasma,passing through a transverse magnetic field

In a flow of plasma, set up by an ionizing shock wave and moving through a transverse magnetic field, under definite conditions there arises a gasdynamic shock wave. The appearance of such shock waves has been observed in experimental 1–4] and theoretical 5–7] work, where an investigation was made of the interaction between a plasma and electrical and magnetic fields. The aim of the present work was a determination of the effect of the intensity of the interaction between the plasma and the magnetic field on the velocity of the motion of this shock wave. The investigation was carried out in a magnetohydrogasdynamic unit, described in 8]. The process was recorded by the Töpler method (IAB-451 instrument) through a slit along the axis of the channel, on a film moving in a direction perpendicular to the slit. The calculation of the flow is based on the one-dimensional unsteady-state equations of magnetic gasdynamics. Using a model of the process described in 9], calculations were made for conditions close to those realized experimentally. In addition, a simplified calculation is made of the velocity of the motion of the above shock wave, under the assumption that its front moves at a constant velocity ahead of the region of interaction, while in the region of interaction itself the flow is steady-state.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 86–91, January–February, 1975.