Investigation of Geometric and Radiative Effects in a Shock-Driven Shear Flow*

Although the hydrodynamics of interfacial instabilities have received significant attention in high-energy-density physics studies, far less is known about the role of radiation on perturbation growth [1]. We present a theoretical and computational platform to study the role of radiation in HED shock-driven shear flows by modifying the design of the shock-shear experiments in [2]. To isolate the hydrodynamics from radiative effects, the perturbation growth is theoretically investigated in a simplified geometry, in which two counter-propagating flows are separated by a perturbed finite-thickness layer representing the tracer. The effect of the tracer thickness on the perturbation growth rate is investigated. Using CRASH, a block-adaptive Eulerian radiation-hydrodynamics code with flux-limited multigroup diffusion, we conduct two-dimensional simulations to investigate more complex and experimentally relevant geometry. The perturbation growth rates due to the shear flow are presented with and without radiation.

 

[1] C. M. Huntington, et al., Phys. Plasmas 25, 052118 (2018).

[2] K. A. Flippo, et al., Phys. Plasmas 25, 056315 (2018).