Asymptotic self-similar solution for a finite-source spherical blast wave in power-law density media

  • Qihang MA ,
  • Bofu WANG ,
  • Quan ZHOU
Expand
  • 1.Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, School of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China
    2.Shanghai Institute of Aircraft Mechanics and Control, Shanghai 200092, China
Bofu WANG, E-mail: bofuwang@shu.edu.cn

Received date: 2025-03-19

  Revised date: 2025-07-02

  Online published: 2025-09-12

Supported by

Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12422208, 12432011, 12421002, and 12372220)

Copyright

© Shanghai University 2025

Abstract

This study generalizes the classical Taylor-Sedov framework to analyze finite-source spherical blast waves propagating through both uniform and power-law density media. Previous analyses have predominantly focused on the effects of varying initial conditions on blast dynamics. In contrast, this study investigates the primary shock wave evolution within different ambient gases, demonstrating the critical dependence on the initial density ratio between the blast sphere and the ambient medium, as well as the ambient density profile. We derive new scaling laws based on the density ratio, which accurately predict the dimensionless main shock distance. Furthermore, we systematically examine, for the first time, the conditions for uniform volume expansion, uniform surface area growth, and uniform shock wave propagation in power-law density media, revealing a key scaling relation associated with the power-law exponent. Numerical simulations validate these novel theoretical predictions, demonstrating excellent agreement with the normalized solutions. These findings provide new insights into blast wave dynamics in inhomogeneous media and have implications for astrophysical and laboratory plasma environments.

Cite this article

Qihang MA , Bofu WANG , Quan ZHOU . Asymptotic self-similar solution for a finite-source spherical blast wave in power-law density media[J]. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 2025 , 46(9) : 1771 -1786 . DOI: 10.1007/s10483-025-3288-7

References

[1] SEDOV, L. I. Similarity and Dimensional Methods in Mechanics, Academic Press, Elsevier, Amsterdam (1959)
[2] DUBNER, G. and GIACANI, E. Radio emission from supernova remnants. The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, 23(1), 3 (2015)
[3] WOLTJER, L. Supernova remnants. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 10, 129–158 (1972)
[4] JIMéNEZ, S., GUILLERMO, T. T., and SERGIY, S. The full evolution of supernova remnants in low- and high-density ambient media. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 488(1), 978–990 (2019)
[5] CHEN, X. and SUN, X. H. The evolution of radio flux density of supernova remnant G1.9+0.3. Chinese Astronomy and Astrophysics, 46(4), 426–432 (2022)
[6] ABUYAZID, N. H., CHEN, X. S., MARIOTTI, D., MAGUIRE, P., HOGAN, C. J., and SANKARAN, R. M. Understanding the depletion of electrons in dusty plasmas at atmospheric pressure. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, 29(7), 075011, (2020)
[7] BALCON, N., AANESLAND, A., and BOSWELL, R. Pulsed RF discharges, glow and filamentary mode at atmospheric pressure in argon. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, 16(2), 217 (2007)
[8] ABUYAZID, N. H., üNER, N. B., PEYRES, S. M., and SANKARAN, R. M. Charge decay in the spatial afterglow of plasmas and its impact on diffusion regimes. Nature Communications, 14(1), 6776 (2023)
[9] BASKO, M. M. Numerical method for simulating rarefaction shocks in the approximation of phase-flip hydrodynamics. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 42(6), 871–884 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10483-021-2734-6
[10] GUAN, H., WANG, J. C., WEI, Z. J., and WU, C. J. Numerical analysis of the interaction of 3D compressible bubble clusters. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 40(8), 1181–1196 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10483-019-2509-6
[11] MA, T. B., WANG, C. T., and XU, X. Z. Conservative high precision pseudo arc-length method for strong discontinuity of detonation wave. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 43(3), 417–436 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10483-022-2817-9
[12] TAYLOR, G. I. The air wave surrounding an expanding sphere. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 186, 273292 (1946)
[13] WHITHAM, G. B. The propagation of spherical blast. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 203, 571581 (1950)
[14] TAYLOR, G. I. The formation of a blast wave by a very intense explosion i: theoretical discussion. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 201, 159174 (1950)
[15] BRODE, H. L. Numerical solutions of spherical blast waves. Journal of Applied Physics, 26, 766775 (1955)
[16] BOYER, D. W. An experimental study of the explosion generated by a pressurized sphere. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 9, 401–429 (1960)
[17] SACHDEV, P. L. Shock Waves and Explosions, Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton (2004)
[18] WHITHAM, G. B. On the propagation of shock waves through regions of non-uniform area or flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 4, 337–360 (1958)
[19] SAKURAI, A. On the propagation and structure of the blast wave, I. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 8, 662–669 (1953)
[20] SAKURAI, A. On the propagation and structure of a blast wave, II. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 9, 256–266 (1954)
[21] LING, Y. and BALACHANDAR, S. Asymptotic scaling laws and semi-similarity solutions for a finite-source spherical blast wave. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 850, 674–707 (2018)
[22] NATH, G. Analytical solution for unsteady adiabatic and isothermal flows behind the shock wave in a rotational axisymmetric mixture of perfect gas and small solid particles. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung A, 76(9), 853–873 (2021)
[23] NATH, G. Analytical solution for unsteady flow behind ionizing shock wave in a rotational axisymmetric non-ideal gas with azimuthal or axial magnetic field. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung A, 76(3), 265–283 (2021)
[24] NATH, G. Propagation of ionizing shock wave in a dusty gas medium under the influence of gravitational and azimuthal magnetic fields. Physics of Fluids, 34(8), 083307 (2022)
[25] KRIEF, M. Piston driven shock waves in non-homogeneous planar media. Physics of Fluids, 35(4), 046102 (2023)
[26] PETRUK, O. Approximations of the self-similar solution for a blastwave in a medium with power-law density variation. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 357, 686–696 (2000)
[27] ROGERS, M. H. Similarity flows behind strong shock waves. Quarterly Journal of Mechanics and Applied Nathematics, 11, 411-423 (1958)
[28] MA, Q. H., CHONG, K. L., WANG, B. F., and ZHOU, Q. Strong shock propagation for the finite-source circular blast in a confined domain. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 45(6), 1071–1084 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10483-024-3120-7
[29] TAYLOR, G. I. The formation of a blast wave by a very intense explosion, II, the atomic explosion of 1945. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 201, 175–186 (1950)
[30] NATH, G. Approximate analytical solution for the propagation of shock waves in self-gravitating perfect gas via power series method: isothermal flow. Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, 41(1), 21 (2020)
[31] TORO, E. F., SPRUCE, M., and SPEARES, W. Restoration of the contact surface in the HLL-Riemann solver. Shock Waves, 4, 25–34 (1994)
[32] MA, Q. H., FENG, F., WANG, B. F., and ZHOU, Q. High order finite-volume central targeted eno family scheme for compressible ows in unstructured meshes. arXiv Print, (2023)
[33] JI, Z., LIANG, T., and FU, L. A class of new high-order finite-volume TENO schemes for hyperbolic conservation laws with unstructured meshes. Journal of Scientific Computing, 92, 61 (2022)
[34] HOU, Y. H., JIN, K., FENG, Y. L., and ZHENG, X. J. High-order targeted essentially nonoscillatory scheme for two-fluid plasma model. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 44(6), 941–960 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10483-023-3003-6
[35] GOTTLIEB, S. and SHU, C. W. Total variation diminishing Runge-Kutta schemes. Mathematics of Computation, 67, 73–85 (1998)
[36] LING, Y., HASELBACHER, A., and BALACHANDAR, S. Modeling and simulation of explosive dispersal of particles in a multiphase explosion. 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Orlando, Florida, AIAA2009-1532 (2012)
[37] CHEN, X., LIU, F., WANG, Y. Z., ZHANG, S. Y., LI, Q., WU, J. Z., WANG, B. F., CHONG, K. L., WANG, C., ZHANG, J. H., and ZHOU, Q. Experimental study of the circular subsonic pipe jet expanding into near vacuum environment. Science China-Physics Mechanics & Astronomy, 68, 294703 (2025)
Outlines

/

APS Journals | CSTAM Journals | AMS Journals | EMS Journals | ASME Journals