Reducing Richtmyer Meshkov Instability Jet Velocity via Inverse Design

In this work, we detail a novel application of inverse design and advanced manufacturing to rapidly develop and experimentally validate modifications to a shaped charge jet analogue. The shaped charge jet analogue comprises a conical copper liner, high explosive (HE), and silicone buffer. We apply a genetic algorithm to determine an optimal buffer design that can be placed between the liner and the HE that results in the largest possible change in jet velocity. The use of a genetic algorithm allows for discoveries of unintuitive, complex, yet optimal buffer designs. Experiments using the optimal design verified the effectiveness of the buffer and validated the modeling.