On the structure of MHD shock waves in a viscous non-ideal gas

The structure of one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) shock waves is studied using the Navier-Stokes equations for the non-ideal gas phase. The exact solutions are obtained for the flow variables (i.e. particle velocity, temperature, pressure and change-in-entropy) within the shock transition region. The equation of state for a non-ideal gas is considered as given by Landau and Lifshitz. The effects of the non-idealness parameter and coefficient of viscosity of the gas are analysed on the flow variables assuming the magnetic field having only constant axial component. The findings confirm that the thickness of MHD shock front increases with decreasing values of the non-idealness parameter. Keywords Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) * Viscous shock waves * Non-ideal gas * Non-idealness parameter * Axial magnetic field