Shock Waves in Transonic Channel Flows at Moderate Reynolds Numbers

The behavior of shock waves in transonic channel flows with varying Reynolds and Prandtl numbers is examined using analytical and numerical methods. It is shown that the location of the sonic line within the structure of a shock wave is independent of the Reynolds number and is coincident with the location of the corresponding discontinuous wave in the limit as the Reynolds number tends to infinity. Also, in a numerical solution, truncation errors and artificial viscosity produce a smeared shock wave similar to that found in a flow at a moderate Reynolds number. Thus, these results lend support to the commonly accepted supposition that the position of the sonic line within the structure of a numerical shock wave can be adopted as the location of the corresponding shock wave in inviscid flow.