Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2006
The problem of a liquid jet moving at hypersonic speed into a gas is considered in a frame of reference in which the tip of the jet is at rest. The liquid jet flow is assumed to be inviscid, irrotational, incompressible and two-dimensional although an approximate extension to the axially symmetric case is developed. The air flow in the hypersonic shock layer is analysed using the modified Newtonian theory. The condition of continuity of pressure at the gas-liquid interface then allows a solution to the potential problem in the liquid to be found by transforming to the hodograph plane. The resulting jet shape is presented graphically in terms of the relevant parameters.
The application of the method to penetration problems is also discussed and comparisons made with experimental results and ‘exact’ solutions.