On the structure of MHD shock waves in a viscous gas

Abstract

The exact solutions for MHD shock waves in an ideal gas are obtained taking into consideration only the viscosity of the gas. In view of an axial magnetic field, the analytical expressions for the particle velocity, temperature, pressure and change-in-entropy within the shock transition region are obtained. The flow variables are numerical analysed to explore the influence of static magnetic field, shock strength, specific heat ratio, initial pressure, initial density and coefficient of viscosity on the flow variables. The findings confirm that thickness of MHD shock front increases with increase in the viscosity of the gas and the change in thickness is more noticeable for large values of the strength of magnetic field. The results provided a clear picture of whether and how the viscosity of gas and the magnetic field affect the thickness of shock front.