NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF PLASMA COMPRESSION BY A LIGHT LINER

The first results on the 2.5-dimensional numerical simulation of the i mplosion dynamics of a fast liner filled by a plasma are presented. Th e calculations correspond to the ''liner-pellet'' scheme, in which the pulse is sharpened due to the nonlinear heat removal onto the end fac e converter, for typical values of a current up to 10 MA and an implos ion time of about tens of nanoseconds. The numerical model includes th e heat transfer between plasma components, radiation transport, and an omalous transport of the magnetic field due to electron magnetohydrody namic effects. It is shown that two-dimensional (r, z) effects begin t o play an important role already in the initial stage of the liner imp losion, long before the onset of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Thus, for an adequate simulation of the dynamics of high-current pulsed plas ma systems, an at least two-dimensional numerical experiment should be carried out.