Microsecond Planar Wire Array Implosions on the GIT-12 Generator

Abstract

Summary form only given. A planar wire array is a Z-pinch load configuration, where the wires are located in a row forming a vertical plane between the electrodes. The first experiments with planar wire arrays were carried out in the University of Nevada, Reno in the fast (100 ns) implosion regime. It was of interest to carry out experimental research of implosion dynamics of planar wire arrays and their radiative characteristics, and to investigate the potential of this load to increase the efficiency of a K-shell plasma radiation source operating in microsecond implosion regime. The experiments were carried out on the GIT-12 generator at the current level of 2.2-3.7 MA. Implosions of aluminum planar wire arrays were studied at varying wire diameters, wire gaps, and wire array masses. Depending on the load parameters, the implosion times were in the range from 600 ns to 1300 ns. The implosion dynamics of planar wire arrays was simulated with the help of OD-model. A good agreement between the experimental data and the simulations was observed when a uniform current distribution between the wires of the planar wire array was assumed in the simulation model. The Al K-shell radiation yield was measured for all load configurations, fhe maximum registered K-shell yield was 6 kJ/cm that is about 1.5 times higher in comparison with the results obtained earlier in the microsecond Z-pinch implosion experiments with nested wire arrays and gas-puff-on-wire-array loads at comparable peak load currents.