SELF-SIMILAR SOLUTIONS OF LASER-PRODUCED BLAST WAVES

The aerodynamics of the blast wave produced by laser ablation is studi ed using the piston analogy. The unsteady one-dimensional gasdynamic e quations governing the flow an solved under assumption of self-similar ity. The solutions are utilized to obtain analytical expressions for t he velocity, density, pressure and temperature distributions. The resu lts predict. all the experimentally observed features of the laser pro duced blast waves.