Collision of expanding plasma clouds: Mixing, flow morphology, and instabilities
Abstract
The collision of two expanding plasma flows is investigated with an emphasis on the mixing flow. The study adheres to laboratory experiments where two Ohmically exploding parallel wires launch hot plasma coronas toward each other. The interpenetration and mixing of the coronas is followed by the collision and mixing of the slowly moving phases of the melted wires. In a recent publication [M. A. Malkov and V. I. Sotnikov, Phys. Plasmas 25(10), 102108 (2018)], a stationary flow that emerges from interpenetrating coronas and plasma microinstabilities in the mixing region had been studied analytically. In this present work, using two-dimensional numerical simulations, we investigate the time evolution of the flow, compare its patterns resulting from collisions of the rarefied coronas and dense wire material, and examine the macroscopic stability of the flow. The stability of the mixing layer with respect to the so-called thin-shell instability is specifically addressed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1063/5.0024615
Entities
People
- A. Hamilton
- Mikhail A. Malkov
- V. I. Sotnikov
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Air Force Research Laboratory
- University of California, San Diego