SOUND-VELOCITY AND SPECIAL FEATURES OF FLOW IN THE CRITICAL-STATE

Experimental data on sound velocity measurements in carbon dioxide and water vapor near the critical point, including the saturation curve, are analyzed. The power laws of sound velocity variation on the satura tion curve and critical isobar, isotherm and isochor are established, according to which the sound velocity goes to zero at the critical poi nt. The problem of formation of rarefaction waves in saturated vapor n ear the critical point is treated. A conclusion is made about the poss ibility of physical simulation of flow and heat-transfer processes at high Mach numbers based on experiments in the neighborhood of the crit ical point.