Study of ultrahigh Atwood-number Rayleigh–Taylor mixing dynamics using the nonlinear large-eddy simulation method

The Nonlinear Large-Eddy Simulation (nLES) method [G. C. Burton, “The nonlinear large-eddy simulation method (nLES) applied to Sc≈1 and Sc⪢1 passive-scalar mixing,” Phys. Fluids 20, 035103 (2008)] is employed in the first numerical study of multimode miscible Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) in the ultrahigh Atwood-number regime above A≥0.90. The present work focuses on the dynamics of turbulent mixing at the large density ratios that may be encountered in certain astrophysical contexts and engineering applications. Using the initial condition from the landmark (N=30723) direct numerical study of Cabot and Cook [W. Cabot and A. W. Cook, “Reynolds number effects on Rayleigh-Taylor instability with possible implications for type-Ia supernovae,” Nat. Phys. 2, 562 (2006)], the nLES method is first validated in simulations of A=0.5 RTI mixing and is shown to recover important statistical measures of the mixing process, such as bubble and spike growth rates and mixing efficiency reported in that study, but at ...

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