Numerical simulation of the interaction between a planar shock wave and a backward-facing triangular bubble containing gases with different Atwood numbers

Abstract

The interaction between a shock wave and an interface delineating two gases engenders intricate flow physics, with particular attention drawn to the hydrodynamic instability due to its practical significance. Previous studies have primarily focused on elucidating different wave patterns and instabilities evolution at the interface during the initial phase of shock interaction with cylindrical or spherical bubbles. However, scant literature has shifted its focus toward exploring the long-term morphology of bubbles, especially those characterized by polygonal interfaces. Notably, the detailed examination of shock interaction with a polygonal interface, such as a triangular one with a constant incident angle, remains largely unexplored in existing literature. Recently, the longtime evolution of detailed flow structures across the interface of shock-forward-facing triangular bubbles was captured by Kundu et al. [“A study on dynamics of shock-accelerated forward-facing triangular bubbles at different Atwood numbers,” Phys. Fluids 36, 016110 (2024)] through numerical simulation. In this study, the dynamics of a shock-accelerated backward-facing triangular interface containing various gases, namely, Sulfur Hexafluoride, Refrigerant-22, Argon, Neon, and Helium, is studied for a shock Mach number of 1.21. Simulations were performed by solving the two-dimensional Euler equation using low-dissipative advection upwind splitting methods (AUSMD), in conjunction with a derived ninth-order upwind scheme and a four-stage third-order Runge–Kutta scheme for temporal integration. The development of Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) and Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) instabilities at the interface, mixing, and normalized movements of backward-facing triangular bubbles is captured at different Atwood (At) numbers.