"two-dimensional MHD numerical simulation of radiating exploding wire plasma dynamics"

Summary form only given. A two-dimensional MHD code, as developed at the IPPLM, was used to model the dynamics of a plasma column created in a radiating exploding wire experiment. The physical model is based on nonideal MHD equations. Ionization kinetics was included using an average-charge approximation. The radiation transport was treated with the diffusion 3T approximation. The numerical algorithm was based on the modified free point method (FPM). We started our computation from an initially ionized tungsten plasma column with a parabolic density profile. An initial distribution of plasma parameters was randomly disturbed at an amplitude below 1%. Realistic dimensions of the wire were considered (length-4 mm, radius-250 /spl mu/m) together with a sinusoidal current rising from 10 to 300 kA in 100 ns time. Transport coefficients and the equation of state were taken from a wide range formulas.