Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in aluminum

Several embedded atom method (EAM) potentials for aluminum were evaluated looking at the shock behavior. A potential was selected to study the characteristics of the growth of a Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in shock melted state with varying the amplitude of the surface while shocking into a vacuum. A brief look at the shock behavior of the potential will also be discussed. The evolution of the growth of the bubble and the spike as a function of time and $kh_0$ will be compared with the existing empirical models of G. Dimonte, et. al. [J. Appl. Physics \textbf{113}, 024905 (2013)] and K. Mikaelian, et. al. [Phys. Rev. Lett \textbf{80}, 508, (1998), J. Fluid Mech. \textbf{703}, 60 (2012)]. Molecular dynamics was selected for this study, in part, because the atomic representation is able capture secondary hydrodynamic effects such as viscosity and surface tension.