Publication Date:
1987-05-01
Description:
It is shown that the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of an accelerating incompressible, inviscid fluid layer is the result of pressure gradients, not gravitational acceleration. As in the classical Rayleigh-Taylor instability of a semi-infinite layer, finite fluid layers form long thin spikes whose structure is essentially independent of the initial thickness of the layer. A pressure maximum develops above the spike that effectively uncouples the flow in the spike from the rest of the fluid. Interspersed between the spikes are rising bubbles. The bubble motion is seriously affected by the thickness of the layer. For thin layers, the bubbles accelerate upwards exponentially in time and the layer thins so rapidly that it may disrupt at finite times. © 1987, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.
Print ISSN:
0022-1120
Electronic ISSN:
1469-7645
Topics:
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
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