Experimental and numerical study of the interaction between a planar shock wave and a square cavity

The interaction of a planar shock wave with a square cavity is studied experimentally and numerically. It is shown that such a complex, time-dependent, process can be modelled in a relatively simple manner. The proposed physical model is the Euler equations which are solved numerically, using the second-order-accurate high-resolution GRP scheme, resulting in very good agreement with experimentally obtained findings. Specifically, the wave pattern is numerically simulated throughout the entire interaction process. Excellent agreement is found between the experimentally obtained shadowgraphs and numerical simulations of the various flow discontinuities inside and around the cavity at all times. As could be expected, it is confirmed that the highest pressure acts on the cavity wall which experiences a head-on collision with the incident shock wave while the lowest pressures are encountered on the wall along which the incident shock wave diffracts. The proposed physical model and the numerical simulation used in the present work can be employed in solving shock wave interactions with other complex boundaries.