On Shock Reflection–Diffraction in a van der Waals Gas

The problem of a weak shock, reflected and diffracted by a wedge, is studied for the two‐dimensional compressible Euler system. Some recent developments are overviewed and a perspective is presented within the context of a real gas, modeled by the van der Waals equation of state. The regular reflection configuration and the detachment criterion are studied in the light of real gas effects. Some basic features of the phenomenon and the nature of the self‐similar flow pattern are explored using asymptotic expansions. The analysis presented here predicts several inviscid flow properties of the real gases undergoing shock reflection–diffraction phenomenon.