The Richtmyer-Meshkov mixing layer is initiated by the passing of a shock over an interface between fluid of differing densities. The energy deposited during the shock passage undergoes a relaxation process during which the fluctuational energy in the flow field decays and the spatial gradients of the flow field decrease in time. This late stage of Richtmyer-Meshkov mixing layers is studied from the viewpoint of self-similarity. Analogies with weakly anisotropic turbulence suggest that both the bubble-side and spike-side widths of the mixing layer should evolve as power-laws in time, with the same power-law exponent and virtual time origin for both sides. The analogy also bounds the power-law exponent between and . It is then shown that the assumption of identical power-law exponents for bubbles and spikes yields fits that are in good agreement with experiment at modest density ratios.
Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
mixing,
shock wave effects,
fractals,
turbulence,
bubbles,
two-phase flow,
flow instability
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.Copyright © 2006
by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
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