Unsteady oblique shock waves

A spatially and temporally local analysis is provided for unsteady, oblique shock waves, in which the flow is assumed to be two-dimensional or axisymmetric. Three unsteady parameters, in a laboratory frame, are viewed as the known independent variables. These are the upstream Mach number, the shock Mach number, and the angle of the shock relative to the instantaneous upstream velocity. Other steady and unsteady parameters, such as the velocity turn angles and downstream Mach numbers, are evaluated in closed form, in terms of these three quantities. Treads are assessed, and a sensitivity analysis is provided. It is suggested that the theory may find application in converting a shock capturing algorithm; at an early time during the computational process, into a shock fitting algorithm.