Non-locality of Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock: injection of thermal protons in a hybrid-Vlasov simulation

We study the interaction of solar wind protons with Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock using a hybrid-Vlasov simulation. We employ the global hybrid model Vlasiator to include effects due to bow shock curvature, tenuous upstream populations, and foreshock waves. We investigate the uncertainty of the position of the quasi-parallel bow shock as a function of several plasma properties and find that regions of non-locality or uncertainty of the shock position form and propagate away from the shock nose. Our results support the notion of upstream structures causing the patchwork reconstruction of the quasi-parallel shock front in a non-uniform manner. We propose a novel method for spacecraft data to be used to analyse this quasi-parallel reformation. We combine our hybrid-Vlasov results with test-particle studies and show that proton energization, which is required for injection, takes place throughout a larger shock transition zone. The energization of particles is found regardless of the instantaneous non-locality of the shock front, in agreement with it taking place over a larger region. Distortion of magnetic fields in front of and at the shock is shown to have a significant effect on proton injection. We additionally show that the density of suprathermal reflected particles upstream of the shock may not be a useful metric for the probability of injection at the shock, as foreshock dynamics and particle trapping appear to have a significant effect on energetic-particle accumulation at a given position in space. Our results have implications for statistical and spacecraft studies of the shock injection problem.

Scaling of detonation velocity in cylinder and slab geometries for ideal, insensitive and non-ideal explosives

Experiments were conducted to characterize the detonation phase-velocity dependence on charge thickness for two-dimensional detonation in condensed-phase explosive slabs of PBX 9501, PBX 9502 and ANFO. In combination with previous diameter-effect measurements from a cylindrical rate-stick geometry, these data permit examination of the relative scaling of detonation phase velocity between axisymmetric and two-dimensional detonation. We find that the ratio of cylinder radius ($R$) to slab thickness ($T$) at each detonation phase velocity ($D_{0}$) is such that $R(D_{0})/T(D_{0})<1$. The variation in the $R(D_{0})/T(D_{0})$ scaling is investigated with two detonation shock dynamics (DSD) models: a lower-order model relates the normal detonation velocity to local shock curvature, while a higher-order model includes the effect of front acceleration and transverse flow. The experimentally observed $R(D_{0})/T(D_{0})$ (${<}1$) scaling behaviour for PBX 9501 and PBX 9502 is captured by the lower-order DSD theory, revealing that the variation in the scale factor is due to a difference in the slab and axisymmetric components of the curvature along the shock in the cylindrical geometry. The higher-order DSD theory is required to capture the observed $R(D_{0})/T(D_{0})$ (${<}1$) scaling behaviour for ANFO. An asymptotic analysis of the lower-order DSD formulation describes the geometric scaling of the detonation phase velocity between the cylinder and slab geometries as the detonation phase velocity approaches the Chapman–Jouguet value.

On the dynamics of multi-dimensional detonation

We present an asymptotic theory for the dynamics of detonation when the radius of curvature of the detonation shock is large compared to the one-dimensional, steady, Chapman-Jouguet (CJ) detonation reaction-zone thickness. The analysis considers additional time-dependence in the slowly varying reaction zone to that considered ill previous works. The detonation is assumed to have a sonic point in the reaction- zone structure behind the shock, and is referred to as an eigenvalue detonation. A new, iterative method is used to calculate the eigenvalue relation, which ultimately is expressed as an intrinsic, partial differential equation (PDE) for the motion of the shock surface. Two cases are considered for an ideal equation of state. The first corresponds to a model of a condensed-phase explosive, with modest reaction rate sensitivity, and the intrinsic shock surface PDE is a relation between the normal detonation shock velocity, Dn, the first normal time derivative of the normal shock velocity, Dn, and the shock curvature, K. The second case corresponds to a gaseous explosive mixture, with the large reaction rate sensitivity of Arrhenius kinetics, and the intrinsic shock surface PDE is a relation between the normal detonation shock velocity, Dn, its first and second normal time derivatives of the normal shock velocity, Dn, Dn, and the shock curvature, K, and its first normal time derivative of the curvature, k. For the second case, one obtains a one-dimensional theory of pulsations of plane CJ detonation and a theory that predicts the evolution of self-sustained cellular detonation. Versions of the theory include the limits of near-CJ detonation, and when the normal detonation velocity is significantly below its CJ value. The curvature of the detonation can also be of either sign, corresponding to both diverging and converging geometries.

Non-equilibrium ideal-gas dissociation after a curved shock wave

Analytic solutions are obtained for non-equilibrium dissociating flow of an inviscid Lighthill-Freeman gas after a curved shock, by dividing the flow into a thin reacting layer near the shock and a frozen region further downstream. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used, with the product of shock curvature and reaction length as the small parameter. In particular, the solution gives expressions for the reacting-layer thickness, the frozen dissociation level, effective shock values of the frozen flow and the maximum density on a stream-line as functions of free-stream, gas and shock parameters. Numerical examples are presented and the results are compared with experiments.

Non-equilibrium dissociating nitrogen flow over a wedge

Experimental results for dissociating nitrogen flow over a wedge, obtained in a free-piston shock tunnel, are described. Interferograms of the flow show clearly the curvature of the shock wave and the rise in fringe shift after the shock associated with the dissociation. It is shown that the shock curvature a t the tip of the wedge can be used to calculate the initial dissociation rate and that it is a more sensitive indication of the rate than can be obtained from fringe shift measurements under the prevailing experimental conditions. Because the free-stream dissociation fraction can be adjusted in the shock tunnel, the dependence on atomic nitrogen concentration of the dissociation rate can be determined by the shock curvature method. A detailed calculation of the flow field by an inverse method, starting from the measured shock shape, shows good agreement with experiments.

Shock curvature and gradients at the tip of pointed axisymmetric bodies in non-equilibrium flow

The shock curvature and flow variable gradients at the tip of a pointed body caused by non-equilibrium effects are considered. Co-ordinates introduced by Chester (1956) are used since they offer a convenient way of treating the boundary conditions. The desired functions are obtained by solving numerically a system of linear ordinary differential equations. These equations have a singularity; the nature of the singularity is found analytically, and its numerical treatment is discussed. The specific non-equilibrium effect considered is vibrational relaxation in a pure diatomic gas. Representative results are given for flow of N2over a cone for a comprehensive range of Mach number and cone angle. There is a point analogous to the Crocco point. The exact results are compared with predictions from (i) a hypersonic, small disturbance theory; (ii) the application of an integral method; (iii) characteristic calculations. In an appendix, a comparative discussion is given of results for frozen flow over ogival bodies.