Abstract
Our highly reproducible shock-tube experiments examine the interaction of two unstable, compressible gas cylinders accelerated by a planar shock wave. Flow visualization shows that the evolution of the double-cylinder flow morphologies is dominated by two counter-rotating vortex pairs, the strength and behavior of which are observed to be highly sensitive to the initial cylinder separation. Simulations of the flow based on idealized vortex dynamics predict grossly different morphologies than those observed experimentally, suggesting that interactions at early time weaken the inner vortices. A correlation-based ensemble averaging procedure permits decomposition of the concentration field into mean and fluctuating components, providing evidence that energy is transferred from the intermediate to the small scales at late time.
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Christopher Tomkins: He was educated in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech (B.M.E., 1993) and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (M.S., 1997), before earning his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at UIUC in 2000. His research interests involve the experimental investigation of complex fluid flows, including the use of high-resolution PIV to probe the structure of wall turbulence, and the investigation of unstable fluid interfaces. He currently holds a joint post-doctoral position at Los Alamos National Laboratory within the Physics (P) and Dynamic Experimentation (DX) Divisions.
Katherine Prestridge: She is a technical staff member at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Dynamic Experimentation Division. She works on experiments to better understand the physics of fluid instabilities and particle transport in shock-accelerated and explosively-driven flows. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at San Diego in 1998, and her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 1992.
Paul Rightley: He has been employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Dynamic Experimentation Division since 1995 where he investigates high-speed transient phenomena including shock-driven fluid instabilities and surface friction in impacts. He moved to LANL upon receiving a Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of California, San Diego studying multiphase flows. Before graduate school, he worked in the Propulsion and Thermophysics group at General Dynamics’ Convair Division. He received his undergraduate engineering degree from New Mexico State University.
Peter Vorobieff: He is an experimental fluid dynamicist with an applied mathematics background. His primary research interests are hydrodynamic instabilities and transition to turbulence. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1996 (Lehigh University, Pennsylvania). Presently he is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico. His current research involves wake and shock-driven instabilities.
Robert Benjamin: He is a Laboratory Fellow at Los Alamos, where he has been on the research staff for 28 years. He has done experimental research in fluid instability, high-speed diagnostics and inertial confinement fusion. He earned a B.S. in Engineering Physics at Cornell University and a Ph.D. in physics at MIT. He recently published a book for precollege students about fluid instabilities, entitled Spills and Ripples.
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Tomkins, C., Prestridge, K., Rightley, P. et al. Flow morphologies of two shock-accelerated unstable gas cylinders. J Vis 5, 273–283 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03182335
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03182335