CAREER: Shock-Tube Investigation of the Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability and Integration of Classroom Lectures and Computer and Laboratory Activities

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ABSTRACT Proposal Number: CTS-9734384 Principle Investigator: Bonazza This is a Career Award to conduct experiments to study the evolution of the instability developing at a fluid interface accelerated by strong shock-waves (up to M = 4 in atmospheric air). The experiments will be carried out in a new vertical, square shocktube of large (25 x 25 cm) cross section. The time evolution (at both the early, linear and late, non-linear stages) of interfaces with various density ratios will be studied, for several values of the incident shock's Mach number. Both continuous (gravitationally stratified) and discontinuous (membrane-based) interfaces will be studied. The study of the evolution of the interface (with particular emphasis placed on the growth rates of its perturbations and thickness) will be based on high spatial resolution, quantitative imaging of planar, vertical cross sections of the interface. Diagnostic techniques will include planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) and Rayleigh scattering, both to be implemented with a pulsed ND:YAG laser. This topic represents an important unresolved problem in fluid mechanics. It is related to the overturn of supernova cores, reactive and non-reactive mixing processes in industrial settings and laser-implosion of microtargets in inertial-confinement fusion experiments.