Theoretical one-dimensional model for variable-density Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence
Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 044501 – Published 29 April, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/prg3-bclc
Abstract
In an early theoretical work published in 1965, Belen'kii and Fradkin [Tr. Fiz. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR im. P. N. Lebedeva 29, 207 (1965)] proposed a turbulent diffusivity model for Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) mixing. We review its derivation and present alternative arguments leading to the same final similarity equation. The original work then introduced an approximation that led to a simplified ordinary differential equation (ODE), which was used primarily to derive the important scaling result, . Here, we extend the analysis by examining the solutions to both the full similarity ODE and the simplified ODE in detail. It is shown that the full similarity equation captures many now well-known features of non-Boussinesq RT flows, including asymmetric spike and bubble growth and a systematic shift of velocity statistics toward the light-fluid side. Comparisons of the theoretical model with numerical and experimental studies show reasonable agreement in both spatial profiles and growth trends of mixing layer heights. We further show that a global mass correction applied to the simplified solution closely approximates the full solution, highlighting that, to leading order, RT mixing is governed by the competing dynamics between diffusion of and mass conservation.
