Exploding Metallic Foil Fuse Modeling at Los Alamos.

摘要

A ''first-principles'' computational model of exploding metallic foil behavior has been developed at Los Alamos. The model couples zero-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics with ohmic heating and electrical circuit equations and uses the Los Alamos SESAME atomic data base computer library to determine the foil material's temperature- and density-dependent pressure, specific energy, and electrical conductivity. The model encompasses many previously successful empirical models and offers plausible physical explanations of phenomena not treated by the empirical models. In addition to addressing the electrical circuit performance of an exploding foil, the model provides information on the temporal evolution of the foil material's density, temperature, pressure, electrical conductivity, and expansion and translational velocities. In this paper, we report the physical insight gained by computational studies of two opening switch concepts being developed for application in an FCG-driven 1-MJ-class imploding plasma z-pinch experiment. The first concept considered is a ''conventional'' electrically exploded fuse, which has been demonstrated to operate at 16 MA driven by the 15-MJ-class FCG to be used in the 1 MJ implosion experiment. The second concept considered is a Type 2 explosively formed fuse (EFF), which has been demonstrated to operate at the 8 MA level by a 1-MJ-class FCG.