Mach wave Mach wave In fluid dynamics, a Mach wave is a pressure wave traveling with the speed of sound caused by a slight change of pressure added to a compressible flow. These weak waves can combine in supersonic flow to become a shock wave if sufficient Mach waves are present at any location. Such a shock wave is called a Mach stem or Mach front. Thus, it is possible to have shockless compression or expansion in a supersonic flow by having the production of Mach waves sufficiently spaced ("cf." isentropic compression in supersonic flows). A Mach wave is the weak limit
Mach reflection Mach reflection Mach reflection is a supersonic fluid dynamics effect, named for Ernst Mach, and is a shock wave reflection pattern involving three shocks. Mach reflection can exist in steady, pseudo-steady and unsteady flows. When a shock wave, which is moving with a constant velocity, propagates over a solid wedge, the flow generated by the shock impinges on the wedge thus generating a second reflected shock, which ensures that the velocity of the flow is parallel to the wedge surface. Viewed in the frame of the reflection point, this flow is locally steady, and the flow is referred to as