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✈️ Supersonic Flow

Interactive supersonic flow simulator. Visualise pressure waves, the Mach cone (μ = arcsin 1/M), oblique shocks off a wedge from the θ-β-M relation, and normal-shock property jumps via Rankine-Hugoniot across subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic regimes.

Aerospace Engineering & Orbital Mechanics3DAdvanced60 FPS💨 Air & Wind

About this simulation

This simulator renders pressure waves emitted by a body moving through air, showing how they behave as the Mach number crosses 1. Below Mach 1 the waves outrun the body; above it they can no longer escape ahead and pile up into a cone. Drag the Mach slider or the wedge half-angle, or switch between wedge, cone and blunt body shapes to see the oblique shock steepen, detach into a bow shock, and watch the θ-β-M relation and Rankine-Hugoniot jump conditions update live.

🔬 What it shows

Circular pressure waves expanding at the speed of sound from a moving body. Past Mach 1 they merge into a Mach cone with half-angle μ = arcsin(1/M); a wedge or cone shape produces an attached oblique shock at angle β, while a blunt body forces a detached bow shock standing off its nose.

🎮 How to use

Use the Mach number and wedge half-angle sliders, pick a body shape (Wedge, Cone, Blunt), or jump to a preset (Subsonic, Sonic boom, Sharp wedge, Blunt re-entry) to see the shock geometry and stats panel (μ, β, p₂/p₁, ρ₂/ρ₁, M₂) update instantly.

💡 Did you know?

Every wedge angle has a maximum θ beyond which no attached oblique shock solution exists — push past θmax in this sim and the shock detaches into a curved bow shock, exactly as happens on real re-entry capsules.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Mach cone?

It's the cone-shaped shock front trailing a body flying faster than sound, with half-angle μ = arcsin(1/M). At M = 2 that works out to about 30°; the cone narrows as Mach number rises.

Why does an oblique shock sometimes "detach"?

The θ-β-M relation only has a solution up to a maximum deflection angle θmax for a given Mach number. Turn the flow more sharply than that (a blunter wedge or higher θ) and the shock can't stay attached to the tip — it stands off as a curved bow shock instead.

What do p₂/p₁ and ρ₂/ρ₁ mean?

They're the pressure and density ratios across the shock, computed from the Rankine-Hugoniot relations applied to the shock-normal Mach number. Stronger shocks (higher Mach, steeper β) produce bigger jumps.

Why does a cone need a different angle than a wedge?

A 3D cone lets flow relieve sideways in every direction around its axis, so it produces a weaker shock than a 2D wedge of the same half-angle — this sim applies roughly a 0.78 scaling factor to approximate that effect.

What is a sonic boom in this model?

It's the transonic regime around M = 1, where pressure waves that would normally spread out ahead of the body instead pile up right at the nose before finally forming a proper shock — the "Sonic boom" preset shows this compression building.

⚙ Under the hood

Watch the Mach cone (μ=arcsin 1/M) and oblique/bow shocks form around a body as Mach number rises, with Rankine-Hugoniot pressure and density jumps across the shock and regime classification.

AerospaceSupersonicMach ConeShock WaveRankine-Hugoniot

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install