The structure of the concentration and velocity fields in a light-heavy-light fluid layer subjected to an impulsive acceleration by a shock wave ͑Richtmyer-Meshkov instability͒ is studied using simultaneous particle-image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence ͑PLIF͒ measurements ͑performed in such flows for the first time͒. The initial condition prior to shock impact is accurately characterized using calibrated PLIF measurements to enable comparisons of the evolving structure to numerical simulations. Experiments performed on a SF 6 curtain in air ͑Atwood number, At= 0.67͒, after single shock by a Mach 1.2 shock wave and reshock by the reflected wave, show that the reshock wave has a dramatic impact on the evolution of the unstable structure. After first shock and in the absence of reshock͑s͒, the structure widths agree well with an analytical extension to the nonlinear point vortex model ͓J. W. Jacobs et al., "Nonlinear growth of the shock-accelerated instability of a thin fluid layer," J. Fluid Mech. 295, 23 ͑1995͔͒ that accounts for the nonuniform spacing of the row of counter-rotating vortices that drive the flow. However, upon reshock, the width deviates significantly from the singly shocked case, and a substantial rise in the growth rate is observed. Enhanced mixing, destruction of the ordered velocity field, and an increase in both the positive and negative circulations ensue. Large velocity fluctuations relative to the mean flow, and the advection of a wide spectrum of vortex scales combine to mix the flow well and create turbulent conditions in the reshocked structure.

An experimental investigation of mixing mechanisms in a shock-induced instability flow is described. We obtain quantitative two-dimensional maps of the heavy-gas (SF 6 ) concentration using planar laser-induced fluorescence for the case of a shockaccelerated cylinder of heavy gas in air. The instantaneous scalar dissipation rate, or mixing rate, χ, is estimated experimentally for the first time in this type of flow, and used to identify the regions of most intense post-shock mixing and examine the underlying mechanisms. We observe instability growth in certain regions of the flow beginning at intermediate times. The mixing rate results show that while these unstable regions play a significant role in the mixing process, a large amount of mixing also occurs by mechanisms directly associated with the primary instability, including gradient intensification via the large-scale strain field in a particular non-turbulent region of the flow.

A varicose-perturbed, thin, heavy-gas curtain is impulsively accelerated by a planar shock wave of varying strength and investigated experimentally using concentration field visualization. Experiments were performed with Mach 1.2 and 1.5 incident shock waves, acquiring images of the initial conditions, and 18 different times after shock interaction in each case. Repeatability of the initial conditions allows for visualization of flow feature development over time for both Mach numbers despite capturing only one dynamic, postshock image per run of the experiment. Good agreement between integral width experimental data and a mixing width model is demonstrated for early to intermediate times in the flow. Integral width growth rates for Mach 1.2 and 1.5 are shown to collapse using a scaling based upon the convection velocity of the curtain. The diffusion driven instantaneous mixing rate, , is also estimated and compared between experiments. Results from this gradient based metric show differences in mixing trends between Mach numbers that do not scale in the same way as integral width, suggesting that integral width alone is insufficient for completely describing the flow. An experiment with a Mach 2.0 incident shock was carried out for the first time in the experimental facility. The resulting image provides further evidence for the mixing trends observed in this paper as Mach number is increased.

The properties of turbulent mixing in a Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) unstable fluid layer are studied under the impact of a single shock followed by a reshock wave using simultaneous velocity–density measurements to provide new insights into the physics of RM mixing. The experiments were conducted on a varicose ${\mathrm{SF} }_{6} $ fluid layer (heavy fluid) interposed in air (light fluid) inside a horizontal shock tube at an incident Mach number of 1.21 and a reflected reshock Mach number of 1.14. The light–heavy–light fluid layer is observed to develop a nonlinear growth pattern, with no transition to turbulence upon impact by a single shock (up to $tU/ \lambda = 23. 4$). However, upon reshock, enhanced mixing between the heavy and light fluids along with a transition to a turbulent state characterized by the generation of significant turbulent velocity fluctuations (${\sigma }_{u} / U\ensuremath{\sim} 0. 3$) is observed. The streamwise and spanwise root-mean-squared velocity fluctuation statistics show similar trends across the fluid layer after reshock, with no observable preference for the direction of the shock wave motion. The measured streamwise mass flux ($ \overline{{\rho }^{\ensuremath{\prime} } {u}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } } $) shows opposing signs on either side of the density peak within the fluid layer, consistent with the turbulent material transport being driven along the direction of the density gradient. Measurements of three of the six independent components of the general Reynolds stress tensor (${R}_{ij} = \overline{\rho { u}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} \ensuremath{\prime} } { u}_{j}^{\ensuremath{\prime} \ensuremath{\prime} } } $) show that the self-correlation terms ${R}_{11} $ and ${R}_{22} $ are similar in magnitude across much of the fluid layer, and much larger than the cross-correlation term ${R}_{12} $. Most importantly, the Reynolds stresses (${R}_{ij} $) are dominated by the mean density, cross-velocity product term ($ \overline{\rho } \hspace{0.167em} \overline{{ u}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } { u}_{j}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } } $), with the mass flux product and triple correlation terms being negligibly smaller in comparison. A lack of homogeneous mixing (and, possibly, a long-term imprint of the initial conditions) is observed in the spanwise turbulent mass flux measurements, with important implications for the simulation and modelling of RM mixing flows.

We experimentally investigate the evolution and interaction of two Richtmyer-Meshkov-unstable gas cylinders using concentration field visualization and particle image velocimetry. The heavy-gas (SF 6) cylinders have an initial spanwise separation of S/D ͑where D is the cylinder diameter͒ and are simultaneously impacted by a planar, Mach 1.2 shock. The resulting flow morphologies are highly reproducible and highly sensitive to the initial separation, which is varied from S/DϷ1.2 to 2.0. The effects of the cylinder-cylinder interaction are quantified using both visualization and high-resolution velocimetry. Vorticity fields reveal that a principal interaction effect is the weakening of the inner vortices of the system. We observe a nonlinear, threshold-type behavior of inner vortex formation around S/Dϭ1.5. A correlation-based ensemble-averaging procedure extracts the persistent character of the unstable flow structures, and permits decomposition of the concentration fields into mean ͑deterministic͒ and fluctuating ͑stochastic͒ components.