Role of slipstream instability in formation of counter-rotating vortex rings ahead of a compressible vortex ring

Counter-rotating vortex rings (CRVRs) are observed to form ahead of a primary compressible vortex ring that is generated at the open end of a shock tube at sufficiently high Mach numbers. In most of the earlier studies, the embedded shock strength has been asserted as the cause for the formation of CRVRs. In the present study, particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and high-order numerical simulations show that CRVRs do not form in the absence of a Mach disk in the sonic under-expanded jet behind the primary vortex ring. Kelvin–Helmholtz-type shear flow instability of the slipstream originating from the triple point of the Mach disk and subsequent eddy pairing, as observed by Rikanati et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 96, 2006, art. 174503) in shock-wave Mach reflection, is found to be responsible for CRVR formation. The growth rate of the slipstream in the present problem follows the model proposed by them. The parameters influencing the formation of CRVRs as well as their dynamics is investigated. It is found that the strength of the Mach disk and its duration of persistence results in an exit impulse that determines the number of CRVRs formed.