Enhancing Understanding Of Highenergy-Density Plasmas Using Fluid Modeling With Kinetic Closures

Abstract

Recent results from experiments and simulation [1], [2] of magnetically driven pulsed power liners have explored the role of the early-time electrothermal instability in the evolution of the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Our focus will be on understanding the development of such instabilities and the potential stabilization mechanisms, which we expect could play a significant role in supporting the success of the MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion) program. MagLIF is a particularly promising emerging concept for producing fusion energy in amounts greater than breakeven. Better understanding of magnetoRayleigh-Taylor instabilities through advanced modeling will improve the MagLIF concept. Experiments have shown that studies of high-energy density plasmas from wire-array implosions require physics modeling that goes well beyond simple models such as ideal magnetohydrodynamics. The goal of this work is to provide increased understanding of these experiments by employing simulations with a multifluid extended-MHD model, which uses kinetic closures for thermal conductivity, resistivity, and viscosity. We will use codes easily available to the wider research community, including university students, with a secondary goal of providing the community with well-benchmarked tools capable of advanced modeling of high-energy-density plasmas. This proposal also pioneers a hybrid fluid-kinetic modeling approach that is applicable to other high-energydensity physics scenarios.