The present effort examines shock‐wave propagation in porous ceramic powders. Computational models of varying sophistication have been developed to treat the dynamic compaction of porous media. The preponderance of computational treatments in production codes, however, have used relatively straightforward engineering modeling approaches to the stress‐wave induced compaction of porous matter such as the Herrmann p‐alpha model, and a more recent method identified as the p‐lambda model. Analytic solutions of shock propagation in porous media have also been fruitfully pursued as exemplified by the seminal solutions of Kompaneets outlined in the second volume of the Zeldovich and Raiser treatise on shock wave physics. Analytic solutions offer instructive insight into the phenomena of shock propagation in porous media and allow scaling of the governing equations to identify the prevailing material and boundary properties. Here the solution methods of Kompaneets have been extended to include specific compaction models. Relationships between compaction models and the resulting shock propagation are explored. © 2004 American Institute of Physics