Simulations of a Shock-Driven Instability Developing from a Curtain of Particles

The problem of a shock wave interacting with a corrugated curtain of solid particles is investigated using point-particle simulations. This gas-solid analog to the classic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in which two fluids of different densities are at play may be relevant to phenomena such as the late time formation of aerodynamically stable particle jets in the context of explosive dispersal of particles or supernovae dust processing. Tracking trajectories of computational particles in the Eulerian-Lagrangian framework, the study aims to characterize the particle curtain development following the passing of a strong pressure discontinuity as a function of the initial conditions. Using a numerical shock tube containing a two-millimeter-thick particle curtain composed of heavy solid particles, we explore the effects of initial shape, particle volume fraction and shock strength on the curtain evolution in two- and three-dimensional planar geometries. Throughout the investigation, compaction phenomena are avoided by constraining simulations to initial particle volume fractions of less than 25%.