Abstract and subjects
We describe a simple algebraic model for the particulate spray that is ejected from a shocked metal surface based on the nonlinear evolution of the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI). The RMI is a shock-driven hydrodynamic instability at a material interface in which the dense and tenuous fluids penetrate each other as spikes and bubbles, respectively. In our model, the ejecta areal density is determined by the product of the post-shock metal density and the saturated bubble amplitude, which depends on both the amplitude and wavelength of the initial surface imperfections of the metal. The maximum ejecta velocity is determined by the ever-growing spikes, which are accelerated relative to the RMI growth rate by the spatial harmonics that sharpen them. The model is formulated to fit new hydrodynamics and molecular dynamics simulations of the RMI and validated by existing ejecta experiments over a wide range of material properties, shock strengths, and surface perturbations. The results are also contrasted with existing ejecta source models.