Compressible Flow

Mercury space capsule model with visible shockwaves and wake.

A model of a Mercury capsule captured by highspeed cameras, showing the forward pressure shockwave and the wake. (Image is taken from NASA's web site: http://www.nasa.gov.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

16.120

As Taught In

Spring 2003

Level

Graduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

The course begins with the basics of compressible fluid dynamics, including governing equations, thermodynamic context and characteristic parameters. The next large block of lectures covers quasi-one-dimensional flow, followed by a discussion of disturbances and unsteady flows. The second half of the course comprises gas dynamic discontinuities, including shock waves and detonations, and concludes with another large block dealing with two-dimensional flows, both linear and non-linear.

Related Content

Wesley Harris. 16.120 Compressible Flow. Spring 2003. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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