Recent advances in the turbulent Rayleigh-Taylor instability
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
In the turbulent Rayleigh-Taylor instability, the light fluid penetrates the heavy fluid as bubbles with a diameter D{sub b} and amplitude h{sub b} that grow self-similarly D{sub b}{proportional_to}h{sub b}{approx}{alpha}{sub b}A gt{sup 2} where A is Atwood number, g is acceleration, and t is time. Experiments measure an acceleration constant {alpha}{sub b}{approx}0.04-0.08 whereas the highest resolution three-dimensional numerical simulations obtain {alpha}{sub b}{approx}0.02-0.03 with idealized initial conditions. This paper reconciles this apparent discrepancy with new simulations that quantify the importance of initial conditions on {alpha}{sub b}. The results compare favorably with experiments and a model based on self-similar bubble dynamics.
- OSTI ID:
- 20736593
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 12, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1871952; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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