Plane and cylindrical strong shocks in magnetogas dynamics

Chisnell-Chester-Whitham method has been used to investigate the propagation of strong diverging plane and cylindrical shock waves in an infinitely electrically conducting ideal gas in the presence of a constant axial magnetic field under two distinct situations, (a) when the ratio of densities on either side of the shock nearly equals (y + 1)/(y - 1), where y is the adiabatic index of the gas, or (b) when the applied magnetic field is large. It is found that th e plane shock wave moves with a constant shock strength. An increase in the magnetic field leads to an increase in the shock velocity. (author). 5 tabs., 3 figs., 8 refs