OPTIMUM PROFILING OF WEAK SHOCK PULSES

An approach to maximizing the energy of a shock wave in a condensed me dium by choosing an optimal pressure profile at the boundary is consid ered. The motion of the medium is described by the Burgers equation. F or exceedingly large Reynolds numbers, the solution is constructed wit h the aid of the maximum principle. It is demonstrated that the energy of a short impact, which is modeled at the boundary by a delta pulse, is the upper bound of the energy of an arbitrary compression pulse th at has the same pressure pulse at the boundary.