Rayleigh-Taylor Instability with Variable Durations of Acceleration Removal

In this study, we explore the effects of variable duration of acceleration removal on the Rayleigh Taylor Instability (RTI) by using implicit large-eddy simulations. For our test case, RTI undergoes a period of constant acceleration (A) followed by a period when the acceleration is removed (Z) followed by a period of second acceleration (A). We call this acceleration time-history as the AZA case. Acceleration removal leads to a rapid decay in kinetic energy within the RTI mixing layer, whereas the mixing state stays similar during the Z stage. The duration of the zero acceleration (Z) period is varied, and it did not influence the re-growth of RTI during the second acceleration stage. In this talk, we will discuss our findings and the similarities of RTI-AZA with the Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability (RMI). The mixing state evolution and the growth of the mixing layer were observed to be similar for both RMI and RTI during acceleration removal stage.