Calculation of plasma radiation transport for description of propellant ignition and simulation of interior ballistics in ETC guns

Abstract

The energy transport by radiation is one of the most important effects in an electrothermal-chemical (ETC) accelerator. At the beginning of the ETC round, after the initiation of the plasma e.g. by an exploding wire, the plasma radiation is responsible for the ignition of the propellant and the observed enhancement of mass production. This could be validated by different closed vessel tests e.g. at TZN and ICT. Therefore the radiation energy reaching the propellant has to be known for the description and understanding of the plasma-propellant interaction. Furthermore radiation energy leaving the hot plasma core enhances the temperature of the colder plasma boundary layer and the surrounding powder gases. For this reason the calculation of radiation transport is necessary to simulate the temperature and pressure development during the interior ballistics processes of an ETC round. A simulation program is described, which can be used for studying the plasma-propellant interaction and which can be used directly in gasdynamic codes, like the 2D code IBECA, for solution of the energy balance equation.