Modulation of Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability in Gas Gun Experiments

We modulate Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in gas gun experiments by modifying the free and impact surfaces of the copper targets. The sample free surface has various shapes including sinusoidal and square waves.  The impact side of the targets are modulated by simple and graded density channels.  With these variations, we demonstrate a level of control on velocity and formation of jetting from the sample free surface. Results are consistent with simulations.  We present velocity and optical data from these experiments and comparison to simulations.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. We gratefully acknowledge the LLNL LDRD Program for partial funding support of this research under Project No. 21-SI-006.