Shock wave configurations and reflection hysteresis outside a planar Laval nozzle

When the pressure ratio increases from the perfectly expanded condition to the third limited condition in which a normal shock is located on the exit plane, shock wave configurations outside the nozzle can be further assorted as no shock wave on the perfectly expanded condition, weak oblique shock reflection in the regular reflection (RR) pressure ratio condition, shock reflection hysteresis in the dual-solution domain of pressure ratio condition, Mach disk configurations in the Mach reflection (MR) pressure ratio condition, the strong oblique shock wave configurations in the corresponding condition, and a normal shock forms on the exit plane in the third limited condition. Every critical pressure ratio, especially under regular reflection and Mach reflection pressure ratio conditions, is deduced in the paper according to shock wave reflection theory. A hysteresis phenomenon is also theoretically possible in the dual-solution domain. For a planar Laval nozzle with the cross-section area ratio being 5, different critical pressure ratios are counted in these conditions, and numerical simulations are made to demonstrate these various shock wave configurations outside the nozzle. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are made to get a more detailed understanding about the shock wave structures outside a Laval nozzle and the RR↔MR transition in the dual-solution domain.