Interaction of rarefaction waves with area reductions in ducts

The interaction of a rarefaction wave with a gradual monotonic area reduction of finite length in a duct, which produces transmitted and reflected rarefaction waves and other possible rarefaction and shock waves, was studied both analytically and numerically. A quasi-steady flow analysis which is analytical for an inviscid flow of a perfect gas was used first to determine the domains of and boundaries between four different wave patterns that occur at late times, after all local transient disturbances from the interaction process have subsided. These boundaries and the final constant strengths of the transmitted, reflected and other waves are shown as a function of both the incident rarefaction-wave strength and area-reduction ratio, for the case of diatomic gases and air with a specific-heat ratio of 7/5. The random-choice method was then used to solve numerically the conservation equations governing the one-dimensional non-stationary gas flow for many different combinations of rarefaction-wave strengths and area-reduction ratios. These numerical results show clearly how the transmitted, reflected and other waves develop and evolve with time, until they eventually attain constant strengths, in agreement with quasi-steady flow predictions for the asymptotic wave patterns. Note that in all of this work the gas in the area reduction is initially at rest.