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Title: Observation of single-mode, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a supersonic flow

Abstract

This manuscript reports the first observations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability evolving from well-characterized seed perturbations in a steady, supersonic flow. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability occurs when two fluids move parallel to one another at different velocities, and contributes to an intermixing of fluids and transition to turbulence. It is ubiquitous in nature and engineering, including terrestrial systems such as cloud formations, astrophysical systems such as supernovae, and laboratory systems such as fusion experiments. In a supersonic flow, the growth rate of the instability is inhibited due to effects of compressibility. These effects are still not fully understood, and hold the motivation for the current work. The data presented here were obtained by developing a novel experimental platform capable of sustaining a steady shockwave over a precision-machined interface for unprecedented durations. The chosen interface was a well-characterized, single-mode sine wave, allowing us to document the evolution of individual vortices at high resolution. Understanding the behavior of individual vortices is the first of two fundamental steps towards developing a comprehensive model for the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a compressible flow. The results of this experiment were well reproduced with 2D hydrodynamic simulations. The platform has been extended to additional experiments, which study the evolutionmore » of different hydrodynamic instabilities in steady, supersonic flows.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [4];  [1];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  2. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Nuclear Research Center - Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel)
  3. Nuclear Research Center - Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel); Ben Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel)
  4. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Nuclear Research Center - Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel); Ben Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE; National Laser User Facility Program (NLUF)
OSTI Identifier:
1336026
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1222512
Grant/Contract Number:  
NA0002032; NA0001840; FC52-08NA28302
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 115; Journal Issue: 14; Journal ID: ISSN 0031-9007
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; supersonic; compressible; Kelvin-Helmholtz instability; hydrodynamic instabilities

Citation Formats

Wan, W. C., Malamud, Guy, Shimony, A., Di Stefano, C. A., Trantham, M. R., Klein, S. R., Shvarts, D., Kuranz, C. C., and Drake, R. P. Observation of single-mode, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a supersonic flow. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.145001.
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Wan, W. C., Malamud, Guy, Shimony, A., Di Stefano, C. A., Trantham, M. R., Klein, S. R., Shvarts, D., Kuranz, C. C., & Drake, R. P. Observation of single-mode, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a supersonic flow. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.145001
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Wan, W. C., Malamud, Guy, Shimony, A., Di Stefano, C. A., Trantham, M. R., Klein, S. R., Shvarts, D., Kuranz, C. C., and Drake, R. P. Thu . "Observation of single-mode, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a supersonic flow". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.145001. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1336026.
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@article{osti_1336026,
title = {Observation of single-mode, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a supersonic flow},
author = {Wan, W. C. and Malamud, Guy and Shimony, A. and Di Stefano, C. A. and Trantham, M. R. and Klein, S. R. and Shvarts, D. and Kuranz, C. C. and Drake, R. P.},
abstractNote = {This manuscript reports the first observations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability evolving from well-characterized seed perturbations in a steady, supersonic flow. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability occurs when two fluids move parallel to one another at different velocities, and contributes to an intermixing of fluids and transition to turbulence. It is ubiquitous in nature and engineering, including terrestrial systems such as cloud formations, astrophysical systems such as supernovae, and laboratory systems such as fusion experiments. In a supersonic flow, the growth rate of the instability is inhibited due to effects of compressibility. These effects are still not fully understood, and hold the motivation for the current work. The data presented here were obtained by developing a novel experimental platform capable of sustaining a steady shockwave over a precision-machined interface for unprecedented durations. The chosen interface was a well-characterized, single-mode sine wave, allowing us to document the evolution of individual vortices at high resolution. Understanding the behavior of individual vortices is the first of two fundamental steps towards developing a comprehensive model for the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a compressible flow. The results of this experiment were well reproduced with 2D hydrodynamic simulations. The platform has been extended to additional experiments, which study the evolution of different hydrodynamic instabilities in steady, supersonic flows.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.145001},
journal = {Physical Review Letters},
number = 14,
volume = 115,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.145001
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Measurements of an Ablator-Gas Atomic Mix in Indirectly Driven Implosions at the National Ignition Facility
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The effect of shock dynamics on compressibility of ignition-scale National Ignition Facility implosions
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Experimental observations of turbulent mixing due to Kelvin–Helmholtz instability on the OMEGA Laser Facility
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Vortex-merger statistical-mechanics model for the late time self-similar evolution of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability
journal, December 2003

  • Rikanati, A.; Alon, U.; Shvarts, D.
  • Physics of Fluids, Vol. 15, Issue 12
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A design of a two-dimensional, supersonic KH experiment on OMEGA-EP
journal, December 2013

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  • Larsen, Jon T.; Lane, Stephen M.
  • Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, Vol. 51, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/0022-4073(94)90078-7
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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Late-Time Mixing Sensitivity to Initial Broadband Surface Roughness in High-Energy-Density Shear Layers
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    Observation of dual-mode, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability vortex merger in a compressible flow
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    • Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 24, Issue 5
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.4982061

    Shock-driven discrete vortex evolution on a high-Atwood number oblique interface
    journal, March 2018

    • Rasmus, A. M.; Di Stefano, C. A.; Flippo, K. A.
    • Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 3
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5021800

    Late-time mixing and turbulent behavior in high-energy-density shear experiments at high Atwood numbers
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    • Flippo, K. A.; Doss, F. W.; Merritt, E. C.
    • Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 5
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    Construction and validation of a statistical model for the nonlinear Kelvin-Helmholtz instability under compressible, multimode conditions
    journal, December 2018

    • Shimony, A.; Wan, W. C.; Klein, S. R.
    • Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 12
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5060958

    The modeling of delayed-onset Rayleigh-Taylor and transition to mixing in laser-driven HED experiments
    journal, May 2019

    • Di Stefano, C. A.; Doss, F. W.; Rasmus, A. M.
    • Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 26, Issue 5
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5085332

    Turbulent mixing and transition criteria of flows induced by hydrodynamic instabilities
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    • Zhou, Ye; Clark, Timothy T.; Clark, Daniel S.
    • Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 26, Issue 8
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5088745

    Shock-driven hydrodynamic instability of a sinusoidally perturbed, high-Atwood number, oblique interface
    journal, June 2019

    • Rasmus, A. M.; Di Stefano, C. A.; Flippo, K. A.
    • Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 26, Issue 6
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5093650

    Turbulent transport and mixing in the multimode narrowband Richtmyer-Meshkov instability
    journal, September 2019

    • Thornber, B.; Griffond, J.; Bigdelou, P.
    • Physics of Fluids, Vol. 31, Issue 9
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5111681

    Observation and analysis of emergent coherent structures in a high-energy-density shock-driven planar mixing layer experiment
    journal, August 2016

    Disruption of a Planet Spiraling into its Host Star
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    Disruption of a planet spiralling into its host star
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