Abstract
The Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) [1, 2] instability occurs when a perturbed interface between two fluids of different densities is accelerated such that the pressure gradient is directed from the heavier fluid to the lighter one. The instability causes small perturbations to grow with time, rolling up into a multi-valued interface, and finally transitioning to turbulence. In contrast to previous studies, an expansionwave is used in this study to produce the pressure gradient generating the instability. This instability is of interest in astrophysics in the study of supernovae [3] as well as in inertial confinement fusion, where it impedes the initiation of thermonuclear burn [4].
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Morgan, R.V., Likhachev, O.A., Jacobs, J.W. (2015). Experiments on the Expansion Wave Driven Rayleigh-Taylor Instability. In: Bonazza, R., Ranjan, D. (eds) 29th International Symposium on Shock Waves 2. ISSW 2013. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16838-8_57
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16838-8_57
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16837-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16838-8
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