Analytical linear theory for the interaction of a planar shock wave with an isotropic turbulent vorticity field

An exact analytical model for the interaction between an isolated shock wave and an isotropic turbulent vorticity field is presented. The interaction with a single-mode two-dimensional (2D) divergence-free vorticity field is analyzed in detail, giving the time and space evolutions of the perturbed quantities downstream. The results are generalized to study the interaction of a planar shock wave with an isotropic three-dimensional (3D) or 2D preshock vorticity field. This field is decomposed into Fourier modes, and each mode is assumed to interact independently with the shock front. Averages of the downstream quantities are made by integrating over the angles that define the orientation of the upstream velocity field. The ratio of downstream/upstream kinetic energies is in good agreement with existing numerical and experimental results for both 3D and 2D preshock vorticity fields. The generation of sound and the sonic energy flux radiated downstream from the shock front is also discussed in detail, as well as the amplification of transverse vorticity across the shock front. The anisotropy is calculated for the far downstream fields of both velocity and vorticity. All the quantities characteristic of the shock-turbulence interaction are reduced to closed-form exact analytical expressions. They are presented as explicit functions of the two parameters that govern the dynamics of the interaction: the adiabatic exponent gamma and the shock Mach number M-1. These formulas are further reduced to simpler exact asymptotic expressions in the limits of weak and strong shock waves (M-1-1 < 1, M(1)1) and high shock compressibility of the gas (gamma -> 1).