FLUX-PENETRATION OF AN ALUMINUM LINER DURING WORKING FLUID COMPRESSION

The Phillips Laboratory working fluid experiment is a research effort to study the compression of a hot hydrogen gas using an electromagneti cally imploded solid Liner. In our experiments, the solid Liner is dri ven by a 5 MJ discharge which Joule heats the aluminum, melting and ev entually vaporizing it. This numerical study explores the vaporization and flux penetration of a solid aluminum liner during its implosion. In particular, it considers the effect that flux which has penetrated the liner has on the hot hydrogen working fluid. A study of the dynami cs of the solid liner was performed with one-dimensional radiation mag netohydrodynamic simulations, which included a careful treatment of th e electrical resistivity near the phase transitions. An analytic snowp low model is developed in order to estimate the minimum working fluid density required to ignore flux penetration through the liner.