On the structure of isothermal acoustic shocks under classical and artificial viscosity laws: selected case studies

Assuming Newton’s law of cooling, the propagation and structure of isothermal acoustic shocks are studied under four different viscosity laws. Employing both analytical and numerical methods, 1D traveling wave solutions for the velocity and density fields are derived and analyzed. For each viscosity law considered, expressions for both the shock thickness and the asymmetry metric are determined. And, to ensure that isothermal flow is achievable, upper bounds on the associated Mach number values are derived/computed using the isothermal version of the energy equation.