Simulations of the radiation-flow within a silica-aerogel target

Summary form only given. The interaction of a silica-aerogel target with a source of soft X-rays is calculated using two-dimensional Lagrangian and Eulerian codes. The radiation is generated by a Z-pinch contained within a vacuum hohlraum at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. The source has been well-characterized using both experiments and simulations. Burn-through foils are used to shield the targets during the implosion phase of the pinch, generation of x-rays and equilibration of the radiation within the hohlraum. The impact of the foils on the experiments that are fielded is still under study. One of the issues under consideration in the present work is the effect of the radiation on the immediate environment of the target (including the burn-through foil). Parameter studies on the target itself have been done using different radiation-flow models. The effects of uncertainties in EOS´s and opacities are presented as well.