HYADES—A plasma hydrodynamics code for dense plasma studies

Abstract

The one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics code HYADES was originally developed to simulate laboratory experiments on dense plasmas driven by intense sources of energy. The code was constructed with the objectives of providing a tool that is (1) “easy to use” by an experimentalist, (2) formulated using simple yet accurate numerical approximations to the physics models, (3) easy to modify and extend with new models, and (4) run on a variety of computers including PCs and Macs. Improvements have been made to several of the physics packages, especially the atomic physics and opacity models. Recent additions and modifications have been made to allow more realistic simulations of materials at temperatures below a few eV. These include models for materials with strength, yield, and linear heat conduction. Examples of simulations of two recent laboratory experiments demonstrates the utility of the code.