Shock-wave mach-reflection slip-stream instability: a secondary small-scale turbulent mixing phenomenon

Theoretical and experimental research, on the previously unresolved instability occurring along the slip stream of a shock-wave Mach reflection, is presented. Growth rates of the large-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz shear flow instability are used to model the evolution of the slip-stream instability in ide...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2006-05, Vol.96 (17), p.174503-174503, Article 174503
Main Authors: Rikanati, A, Sadot, O, Ben-Dor, G, Shvarts, D, Kuribayashi, T, Takayama, K
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Theoretical and experimental research, on the previously unresolved instability occurring along the slip stream of a shock-wave Mach reflection, is presented. Growth rates of the large-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz shear flow instability are used to model the evolution of the slip-stream instability in ideal gas, thus indicating secondary small-scale growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability as the cause for the slip-stream thickening. The model is validated through experiments measuring the instability growth rates for a range of Mach numbers and reflection wedge angles. Good agreement is found for Reynolds numbers of Re 2 x 10(4). This work demonstrates, for the first time, the use of large-scale models of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in modeling secondary turbulent mixing in hydrodynamic flows, a methodology which could be further implemented in many important secondary mixing processes.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.96.174503