▪ Abstract The Richtmyer-Meshkov instability arises when a shock wave interacts with an interface separating two different fluids. It combines compressible phenomena, such as shock interaction and refraction, with hydrodynamic instability, including nonlinear growth and subsequent transition to turbulence, across a wide range of Mach numbers. This review focuses on the basic physical processes underlying the onset and development of the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in simple geometries. It examines the principal theoretical results along with their experimental and numerical validation. It also discusses the different experimental approaches and techniques and how they can be used to resolve outstanding issues in this field.

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The richtmyer-meshkov instability

Rayleigh–Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability induced flow, turbulence, and mixing. II

Investigations of the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability carried out in shock tubes have traditionally used membranes to separate the two gases. The use of membranes, in addition to introducing other experimental difficulties, impedes the use of advanced visualization techniques such as planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF). Jones & Jacobs (1997) recently developed a new technique by which a perturbed, membrane-free gas–gas interface can be created in a shock tube. The gases enter the shock tube from opposite ends and exit through two small slots on opposite sides of the test section, forming a stagnation point flow at the interface location. A gentle rocking motion of the shock tube then provides the initial perturbation in the form of a standing wave. The original investigation using this technique utilized dense fog seeding for visualization, which allowed large-scale effects to be observed, but was incapable of resolving smaller-scale features. PLIF visualization is used in the present study to investigate the instability generated by two incident shock strengths ( M s = 1.11 and 1.21), yielding very clear digital images of the flow. Early-time growth rate measurements obtained from these experiments are found to be in excellent agreement with incompressible linear stability theory (appropriately adjusted for a diffuse interface). Very good agreement is also found between the late-time amplitude measurements and the nonlinear models of Zhang & Sohn (1997) and Sadot et al . (1998). Comparison of images from the M s = 1.11 and 1.21 sequences reveals a significant increase in the amount of turbulent mixing in the higher-Mach-number experiments, suggesting that a mixing transition has occurred.

PLIF flow visualization and measurements of the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability of an air/SF6 interface

The late-time development of Richtmyer–Meshkov instability is studied in shock tube experiments. This investigation makes use of the experimental apparatus and visualization methods utilized in the earlier study of Collins and Jacobs [J. Fluid Mech. 464, 113 (2002)] but employs stronger shocks and initial perturbations with shorter wavelengths to obtain much later-time (in the dimensionless sense) images of the single-mode instability. These modifications produce a very detailed look at the evolution of the late-time single-mode instability, revealing the transition and development of turbulence in the vortex cores that eventually results in the disintegration of the laminar vortex structures into small scale features. Amplitude measurements taken from these images are shown to be effectively collapsed when plotted in dimensionless variables defined using the wave number and the initial growth rate. The amplitude measurements are compared with several late-time nonlinear models and solutions. The best agr...

Experiments on the late-time development of single-mode Richtmyer–Meshkov instability

In diverse areas of science and technology, including inertial confinement fusion (ICF), astrophysics, geophysics, and engineering processes, turbulent mixing induced by hydrodynamic instabilities is of scientific interest as well as practical significance. Because of the fundamental roles they often play in ICF and other applications, three classes of hydrodynamic instability-induced turbulent flows—those arising from the Rayleigh-Taylor, Richtmyer-Meshkov, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities—have attracted much attention. ICF implosions, supernova explosions, and other applications illustrate that these phases of instability growth do not occur in isolation, but instead are connected so that growth in one phase feeds through to initiate growth in a later phase. Essentially, a description of these flows must encompass both the temporal and spatial evolution of the flows from their inception. Hydrodynamic instability will usually start from potentially infinitesimal spatial perturbations, will eventually transition to a turbulent flow, and then will reach a final state of a true multiscale problem. Indeed, this change in the spatial scales can be vast, with hydrodynamic instability evolving from just a few microns to thousands of kilometers in geophysical or astrophysical problems. These instabilities will evolve through different stages before transitioning to turbulence, experiencing linear, weakly, and highly nonlinear states. The challenges confronted by researchers are enormous. The inherent difficulties include characterizing the initial conditions of such flows and accurately predicting the transitional flows. Of course, fully developed turbulence, a focus of many studies because of its major impact on the mixing process, is a notoriously difficult problem in its own right. In this pedagogical review, we will survey challenges and progress, and also discuss outstanding issues and future directions.

Turbulent mixing and transition criteria of flows induced by hydrodynamic instabilities

Previous Richtmyer–Meshkov instability experiments carried out in shock tubes have been hampered by the need to separate the two gases with a thin plastic membrane. As a result, many of these experiments have had poor agreement with the linear stability theory of Richtmyer [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 23, 297 (1960)]. This limitation has been removed in the present investigation by the use of a novel technique in which the interface is formed by flowing light (N2) and heavy (SF6) gases from opposite ends of a vertical shock tube. Both gases exit the shock tube through slots in the test section walls leaving behind a flat motionless interface which is then given a sinusoidal initial shape by gently oscillating the shock tube at a prescribed frequency in the horizontal direction. A weak shock wave (Ms=1.10), generated in the shock tube, impacts the interface and produces the instability. Photographs of the interface, which is visualized by seeding the heavy gas with a water droplet fog and illuminating it with...

M. A. Jones

Papers

A membraneless experiment for the study of Richtmyer–Meshkov instability of a shock-accelerated gas interface