Analysis of weakly nonlinear three-dimensional Rayleigh–Taylor instability growth

Understanding the Rayleigh–Taylor instability, which develops at an interface where a low density fluid pushes and accelerates a higher density fluid, is important to the design, analysis, and ultimate performance of inertial confinement fusion targets. Existing experimental results measuring the growth of two-dimensional (2-D) perturbations (perturbations translationally invariant in one transverse direction) are adequately modeled using the 2-D hydrodynamic code LASNEX [G. B. Zimmerman and W. L. Kruer, Comments Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 11, 51 (1975)]. However, of ultimate interest is the growth of three-dimensional (3-D) perturbations such as those initiated by surface imperfections or illumination nonuniformities. Direct simulation of such 3-D experiments with all the significant physical processes included and with sufficient resolution is very difficult. This paper addresses how such experiments might be modeled. A model is considered that couples 2-D linear regime hydrodynamic code results with an analytic model to allow modeling of 3-D Rayleigh–Taylor growth through the linear regime and into the weakly nonlinear regime. The model is evaluated in 2-D by comparison with LASNEX results. Finally the model is applied to estimate the dynamics of a hypothetical 3-D foil.