Viscous Rayleigh-Taylor instability with and without diffusion effect

• DOI: 10.1007/s10483-017-2169-9
• Publication Date: 2016-12-20T11:34:35Z
• Authors: Chenyue Xie; Jianjun Tao; Ji Li
• Keywords: Rayleigh–Taylor instability; Viscous liquid

The approximate but analytical solution of the viscous Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) has been widely used recently in theoretical and numerical investigations due to its clarity. In this paper, a modified analytical solution of the growth rate for the viscous RTI of incompressible fluids is obtained based on an approximate method. Its accuracy is verified numerically to be significantly improved in comparison with the previous one in the whole wave number range for different viscosity ratios and Atwood numbers. Furthermore, this solution is expanded for viscous RTI including the concentration-diffusion effect.