Numerical calculation of equilibrium shock heated plasma

Steady one-dimensional jump equations across a shock wave are numerically solved for an incident shock and for the reflected shock. Calculations are made for argon, krypton and xenon whose initial pressure and shock Mach number range from 1 torr to 500 torr and from 8 to 30 respectively. Electronic excitation partition function is carefully calculated: missing levels and auto-ionized levels are taken into account as well as tabulated levels. The second ionization as well as the first ionization is taken into account but the third ionization is neglected. Internal energy of gases consists of thermal energy, ionization energy and the energy of excited atoms and ions. Percentage of each energy mode is given for some conditions. Decrease of ionization energy, upper limit of excited levels and decrease of pressure due to electrostatic attractive force are all determined by the Debye-Hueckel theory. For extreme conditions, parameters of the plasma deviate from the region where the Debye-Hueckel theory is valid. The numerical result is also useful for the table of thermodynamic properties of argon, krypton and xenon. (auth.)