COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF NUMERICAL-METHODS FOR 2-DIMENSIONAL HIGH-COMPRESSION MHD-FLOW SIMULATION

The efficiency of the different numerical algorithms in solving the id eal MHD-equations in the presence of a transverse magnetic field is co nsidered. As the testing problem for estimation of the algorithm effic iency, the dynamics of a noncylindrical skinned Z-pinch was used. The important features of the considered pinch are the high degree of plas ma compression, the presence of the shock waves and contact discontinu ities, and the unstable behavior of the plasma-magnetic field boundary . The new qualitative results were obtained by numerical simulation of the above problem with the help of a new algorithm. Particularly, the highly nonlinear stage of Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the plasma-m agnetic field boundary was analyzed. The instability growth was found to result in the breaking of the plasma jets into vacuum along with th e emergence of the magnetic-field bubbles in the matter.