An Investigation Into Nonlinear Growth Rate of Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Single-Mode Richtmyer–Meshkov Instability Using an Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian Algorithm

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation into the use of a moving mesh algorithm for solving unsteady turbulent mixing problems. The growth of a shock induced mixing zone following reshock, using an initial setup comparable to that of existing experimental work, is used to evaluate the behavior of the numerical scheme for single-mode Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (SM-RMI). Subsequently the code is used to evaluate the growth rate for a range of different initial conditions. The initial growth rate for three-dimensional (3D) SM Richtmyer–Meshkov is also presented for a number of different initial conditions. This numerical study details the development of the mixing layer width both prior to and after reshock. The numerical scheme used includes an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian grid motion which is successfully used to reduce the mesh size and computational time while retaining the accuracy of the simulation results. Varying initial conditions shows that the growth rate after reshock is independent of the initial conditions for a SM provided that the initial growth remains in the linear regime.