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This paper discusses a strategy to initialize a two-dimensional (2D) Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes model [LANL's Besnard–Harlow–Rauenzahn (BHR) model] in order to describe an unsteady transitional Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM)-induced flow observed in on-going high-energy-density ensemble experiments performed on the OMEGA-EP facility. The experiments consist of a nominal single-mode perturbation (initial amplitude a 0 ≈ 10 and wavelength λ = 100 μ m) with target-to-target variations in the surface roughness subjected to the RM instability with delayed Rayleigh–Taylor in a heavy-to-light configuration. Our strategy leverages high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) implicit large eddy simulations (ILES) simulations to initialize BHR-relevant parameters and subsequently validate the 2D BHR results against the 3D ILES simulations. A suite of five 3D ILES simulations corresponding to five experimental target profiles is undertaken to generate an ensemble dataset. Using ensemble averages from the 3D simulations to initialize the turbulent kinetic energy in the BHR model (K0) demonstrates the ability of the model to predict the time evolution of the interface as well as the density-specific-volume covariance, b. To quantify the sensitivity of the BHR results to the choice of K0 and the initial turbulent length scale, S0, we execute a parameter sweep spanning four orders of magnitude for both S0 and K0, generating a parameter space consisting of 26 simulations. The Pearson's correlation coefficient is used as a measure of discrepancy between the 2D BHR and 3D ILES simulations and reveals that the ranges 8 ≲ S 0 ≲ 20 μ m and 109 ≲ K 0 ≲ 10 10 cm2/s2 produce predictions that agree best with the 3D ILES results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]