Viscosity, heat conductivity and Prandtl number effects in Rayleigh-Taylor Instability

Abstract

Two-dimensional Rayleigh-Taylor(RT) instability problem is simulated with a multiple-relaxation-time discrete Boltzmann model with gravity term. The viscosity, heat conductivity and Prandtl number effects are probed from the macroscopic and the non-equilibrium views. In macro sense, both viscosity and heat conduction show significant inhibitory effect in the reacceleration stage, and the inhibition effect is mainly achieved by inhibiting the development of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Before this, the Prandtl number effect is not sensitive. Based on the view of non-equilibrium, the viscosity, heat conductivity, and Prandtl number effects on non-equilibrium manifestations, and the correlation degrees between the non-uniformity and the non-equilibrium strength in the complex flow are systematic investigated.