Interaction of an acceleration wave with a characteristic shock in a non-ideal relaxing gas

• The amplitude of an acceleration wave in a non-ideal relaxing gas is evaluated.
• The evolution of a characteristic shock and its interaction with the acceleration wave is studied.
• The amplitudes of the reflected and transmitted waves and the jump in the shock wave acceleration are computed.
• The effects of relaxation and non-ideality on the amplitude of acceleration wave are discussed.

The amplitude of an acceleration wave propagating along the characteristic associated with the largest eigenvalue in a non-ideal relaxing gas is evaluated. The evolution of a characteristic shock and its interaction with the acceleration wave is studied. The amplitudes of the reflected and transmitted waves and the jump in the shock wave acceleration after interaction are computed. The effects of relaxation and non-ideality on the amplitude of acceleration wave are discussed.