Nonlinear growth of the converging Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in a conventional shock tube

Abstract

The cylindrical Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability is studied in a shock tube. The growth rate of this instability does not saturate in the nonlinear regime as it does in the planar geometry. Numerical and theoretical studies show that a Rayleigh-Taylor instability superimposes on the RM one and that Bell-Plesset effects enhance the growth of the instability.