Abstract
The Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) occurs when a perturbed interface separating fluids with different densities is impulsively accelerated, typically by a shock wave [1, 2]. Fig. 1(a) shows the canonical situation where the RMI occurs. The effect of the instability on the interface is shown in Fig. 1(b): it has become highly distorted, which can lead to significant mixing between the two fluids. When the fluids involved are in the plasma state, the RMI can be affected by a magnetic field [3]. This can clearly be seen by comparing Fig. 1(b), which shows simulated postshock- interaction density contours when no magnetic field is present, and Fig. 1(c), which shows the result of an identical simulation carried out in the presence of a normal magnetic field. The observed suppression of the instability in this case is caused by changes to the shock refraction process at the interface with the application of a magnetic field that leave the interface vorticity free [4].
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 29th International Symposium on Shock Waves 2 |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| Pages | 1107-1112 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9783319168371 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2015 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-04-19Acknowledgements: Dr Wheatley is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (project number DE120102942). Additionally, this research was supported under Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (project number DP120102378).