Simulation of exploding metal wire in under-water discharge experiments for warm dense matter study

Summary form only given. We present one-dimensional time-dependent simulation of exploding metal wire in under-water electric discharge experiments. Starting from the initial condition of solid wire at room temperature and taking relevant phase transitions into account, the simulation predicts the approximate onset time of wire explosion based on the ohmic heating power computed from measured current-voltage pulse profiles. The expanding boundaries of wire column and water shock-front are reproduced by the simulation and compared with the fast-frame camera images obtained in the experiments so that the validity of the employed equation-of-state model can be assessed. From the measured data of wire resistance and radius in corporation with calculated temperatures, the electrical conductivity of wire material is evaluated for the warm dense matter (WDM) conditions and compared with results given by other theoretical and experimental studies.¹