Shock waves in multi-phase media refer to a rich variety of phenomena of
interest to physicists, chemists, mechanical engineers, fluid dynamicists and
aeronautical engineers. Today, new applications in biomedical engineering are
being explored. For the description of shocks in multi-phase media, elements
from thermodynamics and thermal physics, mechanics and fluid mechanics
have to be combined with elements from applied mathematics. To study shocks
in multi-phase media use of dedicated and sophisticated experimental facilities
is required while these experimental studies provide new insights into the state
of matter, ranging from micro-bubbles in distilled water to yield stresses and
plastic deformation in porous materials.
This book contains chapters on shocks and expansion waves in complex
liquids with bubble clouds and single bubbles, shock waves in superfluid helium,
shock waves related to phase transition and shocks interacting with solid
foams, textiles and porous and granular materials. Different authors will focus
on biomedical applications. Some of these are widely used in medical practice,
such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), applied successfully
to the non-invasive disintegration of kidney stones.