The time scale for the transition to turbulence in a high Reynolds number, accelerated flow

An experiment is described in which an interface between materials of different density is subjected to an acceleration history consisting of a strong shock followed by a period of deceleration. The resulting flow at this interface, initiated by the deposition of strong laser radiation into the initially well characterized solid materials, is unstable to both the Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) and Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instabilities. These experiments are of importance in their ability to access a difficult experimental regime characterized by very high energy density (high temperature and pressure) as well as large Reynolds number and Mach number. Such conditions are of interest, for example, in the study of the RM/RT induced mixing that occurs during the explosion of a core-collapse supernova. Under these experimental conditions, the flow is in the plasma state and given enough time will transition to turbulence. By analysis of the experimental data and a corresponding one-dimensional numerical simulation of the experiment, it is shown that the Reynolds number is sufficiently large (Re>105) to support a turbulent flow. An estimate of three key turbulence length scales (the Taylor and Kolmogorov microscales and a viscous diffusion scale), however, shows that the temporal duration of the present flow is insufficient to allow for the development of a turbulent inertial subrange. A methodology is described for estimating the time required under these conditions for the development of a fully turbulent flow.