Microscopic gass puff design for Rayleigh Taylor instability mitigation

Summary form only given: Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability is a well-know limitation to the performance of imploding wire arrays. To reduce or suppress the RT drive, it is necessary to lower the density gradient. One possible solution is to use a low density foam inside the array. Another possible solution uses a fast gas puff, which is particularly efficient when used in small geometries. Cylindrical foil implosions on the COBRA pulsed-power generator (IMA/ 100 ns current rise time) necessitate foils 1- 3 mm in diameter and 1 cm high. As a direct consequence, the gas jet used to prefill the inner cavity of the cylindrical foil needs to have a similar size. To achieve the required specifications, a fast gas puff using a microscopic nozzle has been adapted on a fast gas puff valve1. Preliminary results show that the characteristics and properties of the gas jet are compatible with the geometry of the cylindrical foil experiment.