Question

Characteristic curves passing through a point in a flow field are straight lines.

(a) True

(b) False

This question was addressed to me in examination.

I'm obligated to ask this question of Two Dimensional Irrotational Flow topic in chapter Numerical Techniques for Steady Supersonic Flow of Aerodynamics

Answer 1

Right choice is (b) False

For explanation I would say: The right and left running characteristic curves are generally curved as it is given by tan⁡(θ ± μ). Since the value of the Mach angle and the angle θ vary at each point in the flow field, the characteristics are curved instead of being a straight line.