The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in National Ignition Facility hohlraums as a source of gold-gas mixing
Abstract
Highly resolved radiation-hydrodynamics FCI2 simulations have been performed to model laser experiments on the National Ignition Facility. In these experiments, cylindrical gas-filled hohlraums with gold walls are driven by a 20 ns laser pulse. For the first time, simulations show the appearance of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) vortices at the interface between the expanding wall material and the gas fill. In this paper, we determine the mechanisms which generate this instability: the increase of the gas pressure around the expanding gold plasma leads to the aggregation of an over-dense gold layer simultaneously with shear flows. At the surface of this layer, all the conditions are met for a KH instability to grow. Later on, as the interface decelerates, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability also comes into play. A potential scenario for the generation of a mixing zone at the gold-gas interface due to the KH instability is presented. Our estimates of the Reynolds number and the plasma diffusion width at the interface support the possibility of such a mix. The key role of the first nanosecond of the laser pulse in the instability occurrence is also underlined.
- Publication:
-
Physics of Plasmas
- Pub Date:
- May 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1063/1.4948468
- Bibcode:
- 2016PhPl...23e2704V