A Complete Classification of Sub-Shocks in the Shock Structure of a Binary Mixture of Eulerian Gases with Different Degrees of Freedom

TL;DR

This paper classifies all possible sub-shocks in the shock structure of a binary mixture of Eulerian gases with different degrees of freedom, using a multi-temperature model and numerical verification.

Contribution

It provides a complete classification of sub-shocks in binary gas mixtures with different molecular degrees of freedom, including necessary and sufficient conditions for their formation.

Findings

Regions with no sub-shocks, single constituent sub-shocks, or both identified.

Necessary and sufficient conditions for sub-shock formation established.

Numerical solutions confirm theoretical predictions and reveal relationships between acceleration waves and sub-shocks.

Abstract

The shock structure in a binary mixture of polyatomic Eulerian gases with different degrees of freedom of a molecule is studied based on the multi-temperature model of rational extended thermodynamics. Since the system of field equations is hyperbolic, the shock-structure solution is not always regular, and discontinuous parts (sub-shocks) can be formed. For given values of the mass ratio and the specific heats of the constituents, we identify the possible sub-shocks as the Mach number $M_0$ of the shock wave and the concentration $c$ of the constituents change. In the plane $(c,M_0)$, we identify the possible regions for the sub-shock formation. The analysis is obtained to verify when the velocity of the shock wave meets a characteristic velocity in the unperturbed or perturbed equilibrium states that gives a necessary condition for the sub-shock formation. The condition becomes necessary and sufficient when the velocity of the shock becomes greater than the maximum characteristic velocity in the unperturbed state. Namely, the regions with no sub-shocks, a sub-shock for only one constituent, or sub-shocks for both constituents are comprehensively classified. The most interesting case is that the lighter molecule has more degrees of freedom than that of the heavy one. In this situation, the topology of the various regions becomes different. We also solve the system of the field equations numerically using the parameters in the various regions and confirm whether the sub-shocks emerge or not. Finally, the relationship between an acceleration wave in a constituent and the sub-shock in the other constituent is explicitly derived.