Understanding Normal Shock Waves — Lesson 5

This lesson covers the concept of normal shock waves, which are compression waves usually seen in nozzles, turbo machinery blades, supersonic intakes, and shock tubes. The lesson explains how these waves are encountered in nozzles and are crucial for understanding compressible flow through nozzles. It also discusses the appearance of these waves in external flows, such as over aircraft wings. The lesson further delves into the compression process across the shock wave, which is highly irreversible, leading to a loss of exergy. The lesson also differentiates between normal shock waves and acoustic waves, and explains the thermodynamic and flow aspects of normal shock waves in calorically perfect gases.

Video Highlights

02:03 - Normal shock waves in internal flows
08:08 - Governing equations for normal shock waves
18:38 - Difference between an acoustic wave and a normal shock wave
23:56 - Plotting of quantities as a function of the initial Mach number

Key Takeaways

- Normal shock waves are compression waves encountered in nozzles, turbo machinery blades, supersonic intakes, and shock tubes.
- These waves are crucial for understanding compressible flow through nozzles.
- The compression process across the shock wave is highly irreversible, leading to a loss of exergy.
- Normal shock waves differ from acoustic waves, which are wave trains composed of compression and rarefaction fronts.