Simulations of the shock-driven Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in inclined gas curtains

In this paper, we present simulation results for the two-dimensional, shock-driven Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. Simulations are performed with a Mach 2.0 shock propagating through a finite-thickness curtain of gas inclined at an angle α 0 = 30 ° with respect to the shock plane. After the passage of the shock, the gas curtain is accelerated along its axis. A perturbation develops due to shock reflection near the lower wall, and a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability forms near the vertical center of the curtain. This is the first known numerical reproduction of these phenomena that have previously been observed in experiments with an inclined cylindrical gas column. The effects of varying Mach number and column width were explored in detail to complement experimental data. The dependence of the Kelvin–Helmholtz wavelength on Mach number closely matches the relationship observed in experiments. This supports the notion that the observed instability is effectively two-dimensional and inviscid (like classical Kelvin–Helmholtz). The growth rate of the perturbations in the gas curtain was also found to be similar for different Mach numbers. The perturbation at the curtain foot, previously unreported in experiments, was found to have a similar relationship to Mach number as the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. Both perturbation wavelengths are found to be proportional to layer width. Simulations were performed with the fast interfaces and transport in the atmosphere, an exascale ready, graphics processing unit-accelerated compressible flow solver developed at the University of New Mexico.