Nonlinear saturation of the Rayleigh{endash}Taylor instability

Journal Article · Tue Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.872553· OSTI ID:527872

Das, A; Mahajan, S; Kaw, P; Sen, A ^[1]; Benkadda, S ^[2]; Verga, A ^[3]

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1. Institute For Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar, 382428 (India)
2. Equipe Turbulence Plasma de lURA 773 CNRS--Universite de Provence, I.M.T., F-13451 Marseille Cedex 20 (France)
3. Institut de Recherche sur les Phenomenes Hors Equilibre. 12, av. General Leclerc, F-13003, Marseille (France)

A detailed numerical simulation of the nonlinear state of the Rayleigh{endash}Taylor instability has been carried out. There are three distinct phases of evolution where it is governed by the (i) linear effects, (ii) effects arising from the conventional nonlinear terms and (iii) subtle nonlinear effects arising through the coupling terms. During the third phase of evolution, there is a self-consistent generation of shear flow which saturates the Rayleigh{endash}Taylor instability even in situations (with periodic boundaries) where, in principle, an infinite amount of gravitational energy can be tapped. The Galerkin approximation is presented to provide an understanding of our numerical findings. Last, there is an attempt to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nonlinear state of the Rayleigh{endash}Taylor instability by comparing and contrasting this work with earlier studies. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}

• OSTI ID: 527872
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 4; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
GALERKIN-PETROV METHOD
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA SIMULATION
RAYLEIGH-TAYLOR INSTABILITY
SHEAR