We are to calculate the shock angle, Mach number, and pressure downstream of the weak and strong oblique shocks formed by a twodimensional wedge.
Assumptions 1 The flow is steady. 2 The boundary layer on the wedge is very thin.
Properties The fluid is air with k = 1.4.
Analysis Because of assumption 2, we approximate the oblique shock deflection angle as equal to the wedge half-angle, i.e., \theta \cong \delta=10^{\circ} . With Ma _{1}=2.0 \text { and } \theta=10^{\circ} , we solve Eq. 17–46 for the two possible values of oblique shock angle \beta: \beta _{\text {weak }}=39.3^{\circ} \text { and } \beta _{\text {strong }}=83.7^{\circ} . From these values, we use the first part of Eq. 17–44 to calculate the upstream normal Mach number Ma _{1, n} ,
Ma _{1, n}= Ma _{1} \sin \beta \quad \text { and } \quad Ma _{2, n}= Ma _{2} \sin (\beta-\theta)
The θ-β-Ma relationship: \tan \theta=\frac{2 \cot \beta\left( Ma _{1}^{2} \sin ^{2} \beta-1\right)}{\operatorname{Ma}_{1}^{2}(k+\cos 2 \beta)+2}
Weak shock: Ma _{1, n}= Ma _{1} \sin \beta \rightarrow Ma _{1, n}=2.0 \sin 39.3^{\circ}=1.267
Strong shock: Ma _{1, n}= Ma _{1} \sin \beta \rightarrow Ma _{1, n}=2.0 \sin 83.7^{\circ}=1.988
We substitute these values of Ma _{1, n} into the second equation of Fig. 17–40 to calculate the downstream normal Mach number Ma _{2, n} . For the weak shock, Ma _{2, n} = 0.8032, and for the strong shock, Ma _{2, n} = 0.5794. We also calculate the downstream pressure for each case, using the third equation of Fig. 17–40, which gives
Weak shock:
\frac{P_{2}}{P_{1}}=\frac{2 k Ma _{1, n}^{2}-k+1}{k+1} \rightarrow P_{2}=(75.0 kPa ) \frac{2(1.4)(1.267)^{2}-1.4+1}{1.4+1}=128 kPa
Strong shock:
\frac{P_{2}}{P_{1}}=\frac{2 k Ma _{1, n}^{2}-k+1}{k+1} \rightarrow P_{2}=(75.0 kPa ) \frac{2(1.4)(1.988)^{2}-1.4+1}{1.4+1}=333 kPa
Finally, we use the second part of Eq. 17–44 to calculate the downstream Mach number,
Ma _{1, n}= Ma _{1} \sin \beta \quad \text { and } \quad Ma _{2, n}= Ma _{2} \sin (\beta-\theta)
Weak shock: Ma _{2}=\frac{ Ma _{2, n}}{\sin (\beta-\theta)}=\frac{0.8032}{\sin \left(39.3^{\circ}-10^{\circ}\right)}= 1 . 6 4
Strong shock: Ma _{2}=\frac{ Ma _{2, n}}{\sin (\beta-\theta)}=\frac{0.5794}{\sin \left(83.7^{\circ}-10^{\circ}\right)}= 0 . 6 0 4
The changes in Mach number and pressure across the strong shock are much greater than the changes across the weak shock, as expected.
Discussion Since Eq. 17–46 is implicit in β, we solve it by an iterative approach or with an equation solver such as EES. For both the weak and strong oblique shock cases, Ma _{1, n} is supersonic and Ma _{2, n} is subsonic. However, Ma _{2} is supersonic across the weak oblique shock, but subsonic across the strong oblique shock. We could also use the normal shock tables in place of the equations, but with loss of precision.
The θ-β-Ma relationship: \tan \theta=\frac{2 \cot \beta\left( Ma _{1}^{2} \sin ^{2} \beta-1\right)}{ Ma _{1}^{2}(k+\cos 2 \beta)+2}