Rarefaction shock wave near the critical liquid–vapour point

Abstract

The existence of a rarefaction shock wave or negative shock wave in a substance whose unperturbed state is close to the thermodynamic critical liquid–vapour point has been demonstrated experimentally. Its evolution and propagation velocity in a shock tube with Freon-13 as the test substance are described. It is shown that the steepness of the wave front does not diminish as the wave evolves. An equation is derived that describes the evolution of long-wave perturbations near the critical point.