Introduction

The problems relating to the behaviour of a shock wave encountering either another shock wave, or a rarefaction wave, or an interface separating two media (one of which may be rigid) are described as ‘Interaction of Shock Waves’. This subject, associated with almost all the real physical situations involving shocks, is one of the most important branches of modern mechanical science. This study is of great practical importance in connection with blast effect on supersonic aircrafts from the view point of weapon analysis and the vulnerability of either a missile or a re-entry vehicle to blast. This branch of science inspite of its manifold utility has not received the attention it warrants because of considerable difficulties involved in obtaining the solution of the problems.