The influence of the nitrogen dissociation on the interactions due to
the interference of two planar shock waves in a hypersonic high enthal
py flow is theoretically investigated for infinite reaction rates. The
two limiting cases ofinfinitely slow and infinitely fast reactions ar
e modelled as a perfect gas and an ideal dissociating gas in chemical
equilibrium. To investigate the influence of finite reaction rates on
the interactions of shock waves, experiments are performed in the ''hi
gh enthalpy shock tunnel Gottingen'' (HEG) with a wind tunnel model co
nsisting of a wedge type shock generator and a transversally mounted c
ylinder. The pressure and heat transfer loads resulting from the shock
wave interferences are measured and the flow field is visualized by m
eans of interferograms. The experimental results are compared with the
results of a numerical simulation for a dissociating nitrogen flow an
d with the experimental results for a perfect gas flow.