Regular versus Mach reflection for converging polygonal shocks

The onset of Mach reflection or regular reflection at the vertices of a converging polygonal shock wave was investigated experimentally in a horizontal annular shock tube. The converging shock waves were visualized by schlieren optics. Two different types of polygonal shock convergence patterns were observed. We compared the behavior during the focusing process for triangular and square-shaped shocks. It is shown that once a triangular shaped shock is formed, the corners in the converging shock will undergo regular reflection and consequently the shape will remain unaltered during the focusing process. A square-shaped shock suffers Mach reflections at the corners and hence a reconfiguring process takes place; the converging shock wave alternates between a square and an octagon formation during the focusing process.