Scott Reckinger

Comprehensive numerical methodology for direct numerical simulations of compressible Rayleigh-Taylor instability

An investigation of compressible Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) requires efficient numerical methods, advanced boundary conditions, and consistent initialization in order to capture the wide range of scales and vortex dynamics present in the system, while reducing the computational impact associated with acoustic wave generation and the subsequent interaction with the flow. An advanced computational framework is presented that handles the challenges introduced by considering the compressive nature of RTI systems, which include sharp interfacial density gradients on strongly stratified background states, acoustic wave generation and removal at computational boundaries, and stratification dependent vorticity production. The foundation of the numerical methodology described here is the wavelet-based grid adaptivity of the Parallel Adaptive Wavelet Collocation Method (PAWCM) that maintains symmetry in single-mode RTI systems to extreme late-times. PAWCM is combined with a consistent initialization, which reduces the generation of acoustic disturbances, and effective boundary treatments, which prevent acoustic reflections. A dynamic time integration scheme that can handle highly nonlinear and potentially stiff systems, such as compressible RTI, completes the computational framework. The numerical methodology is used to simulate two-dimensional single-mode RTI to extreme late-times for a wide range of flow compressibility and variable density effects. The results show that flow compressibility acts to reduce the growth of RTI for low Atwood numbers, as predicted from linear stability analysis.