A modified Mott-Smith method for predicting the one-dimensional shock wave solution at very high Mach numbers is constructed by developing a system of fluid dynamics equations. The predicted shock solutions in a gas of Maxwell molecules, a hard-sphere gas, and in argon using the newly proposed formalism are compared with the experimental data, direct-simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) solution, and other solutions computed from some existing theories for Mach numbers M<50. In the limit of an infinitely large Mach number, the predicted shock profiles are also compared with the DSMC solution. The density, temperature and heat flux profiles calculated at different Mach numbers have been shown to have good agreement with the experimental and DSMC solutions.
©2011 American Physical Society