Homogeneity in a Metal Wire under Melting

Results of numerical simulations of the melting wave in a tungsten wire heated by a high-power nanosecond current pulse are preseInted. To take into account the hydrodynamic effects under melting, a semiempirical multiphase equation of state for tungsten is used. The structure of the melting wave at different parameters of the heating is studied, and a theoretical evaluation for the thickness of this wave, δm, is proposed. The homogeneity of the distribution of parameters over the wire can be expected in the case of δm a0, where a0 is the initial radius of the wire. The melting wave can be considered as a discontinuity of thermophysical properties of the solid and liquid phases at δm a0.