The effect of anomalous resistivity on fast electrothermal instability

Magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs) are used to deliver tens of MA to a Z-pinch load. The MITLs suffer current losses due to contaminant plasma located in the anode–cathode gap which is swept toward the load along the power flow. The swept up contaminant plasma can deposit mass and energy onto the load resulting in deformations or the seeding of macroscopic instabilities. This paper discusses 2D fully kinetic simulations of the contaminant plasma evolution which predict the current losses and the flux of mass and energy onto the load. The effects of a dynamic, i.e., imploding, load are shown to increase both the current loss and the mass and energy flux. The MITL used is a conical, radially converging design which is a feature common to MA-scale Z-pinch accelerators.

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Impact of power flow on Z-pinch loads

Tummel

Welch

Rose

et al. 2022

Physics of Plasmas

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Effect of surface roughness on phase transition timing in megaampere pulsed-power–driven exploding conductors

Carrier,

Farmer,

Klemmer

et al. 2023

Physics of Plasmas

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An understanding of material phase transitions in megaampere pulsed-power–driven exploding conductors is important for predicting the growth of hydrodynamic instabilities in magneto-inertial fusion concepts. This study analyzes phase transitions in electrical conductor explosions using 1D Lagrangian and 2D arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations to show that micrometer-scale surface roughness can lead to the electrothermal instability (ETI), a feedback effect that concentrates resistive heating and leads to early melting and ablation. Simulations of the Mykonos electrothermal instability II (METI-II) experiment show melting begins 19% sooner for machined rods with micrometer-scale surface roughness than for rods without these features. The surface magnetic field is 41 T around the initial region of melt, representing a lower magnitude than both the 86 T from 1D simulations and the 85 T threshold reported elsewhere. In 2D simulations with micrometer-scale surface roughness, temperature measurements indicate the critical point temperature of aluminum is reached 17% faster in comparison with 1D simulations. Values from 2D simulations with surface roughness align with predictions from ETI theory, and the observed temperature redistribution further supports the ETI as an underlying mechanism. Simulation results are validated against experimental photonic Doppler velocimetry data. This study shows 1D simulations are adequate to model conductors with sub-micrometer-scale surface roughness in this high-energy-density regime; however, 2D or 3D simulations are required to capture the full range of physics for accurately describing phase transitions in conductors with micrometer-scale or larger surface roughness.

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Theory and simulation of the electrothermal instability in pulsed power electrode plasmas

Vazsonyi,

Swanekamp,

Ottinger

2024

Physics of Plasmas

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Linear theory of the electrothermal instability is rederived and applied to conditions expected in pulsed power electrode surface plasmas comprised of either hydrogen or carbon. The analysis includes losses due to Coulomb collisions, inelastic processes derived from a collisional radiative model, and thermal conduction. The predicted growth rates are relevant for pulse durations typical of pulsed power devices. Linear theory reveals that the growth rate peaks at a characteristic wavenumber kmax, which is dependent on electron current density Je, number density ne, and temperature Te. Analysis of nonlinear simulations finds that saturation occurs as a result of Coulomb collisions, which limit the electron temperature to go no lower than the ion temperature such that Te≳Ti. When the instability is driven by a perturbation with broadband sinusoidal content, the peak in the energy spectrum nonlinearly shifts away from kmax toward smaller wavenumbers (or longer wavelengths) during saturation. The ETI is shown to be capable of driving plasma filaments with perturbed current densities and electron temperatures that exceed the initial, steady-state values.

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The effect of anomalous resistivity on fast electrothermal instability

Cited by 6 publications

References 49 publications

Impact of power flow on Z-pinch loads

Impact of power flow on Z-pinch loads

Effect of surface roughness on phase transition timing in megaampere pulsed-power–driven exploding conductors

Theory and simulation of the electrothermal instability in pulsed power electrode plasmas

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