Stability of intense shock waves in gases

A theoretical investigation of density and pressure profiles in the dissociation zone of a polyatomic gas after detonation is presented. It is shown that a density drop in the dissociation zone leads to a loss of stability. The possible existence of a self-sustained detonation at a certain point at the density drop within the relaxation zone is investigated. Computational results are presented for CO2 at a temperature of 293 K.