RICHTMYER-MESHKOV INSTABILITY IN THE TURBULENT REGIME

We investigate the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in the turbulent regime with three-dimensional random interfacial perturbations. Experiments are conducted on the Nova laser with strong radiatively driven shocks (Mach>20) in planar, two-fluid targets. The mixing zone at the interface is found to increase in time as h∼tβ with β∼0.6±0.1. Hydrodynamic simulations in 2D obtain similar values of h over the observation time, but with a larger exponent. A heuristic turbulent impulsive model is offered to identify the underlying processes. © 1995 The American Physical Society.