Question

For a given cone angle and freestream Mach number, how many oblique shock(s) is/are present?

(a) 1

(b) 2

(c) 4

(d) Infinity

The question was asked in homework.

My question is based upon Physical Aspects of Supersonic Flow over Cones topic in portion Linearized and Conical Flows of Aerodynamics

Answer 1

The correct answer is (b) 2

To explain: For a conical flow placed in a freestream Mach number M∞ with a particular cone angle θc, there exists two oblique shock waves which is a result of one weak and one strong solution. It is similar to the case of wedge where using θ – β – M graph we obtain two shock waves.