The formation and evolution of the core-corona structure in the electrical explosion of aluminum wire in vacuum: experimental and numerical investigations

Abstract

Experimental and numerical investigations on the formation and evolution of the core-corona structure in the electrical explosion of aluminum wire in vacuum are presented. In the experiments of aluminum wire explosion, shadowgraphy, interferometry and schlieren optical diagnostics are constructed with a laser probe to study the morphological evolution and distribution of the core and corona. A set of computational models with cold start conditions, consisting of a thermodynamic calculation and magnetohydrodynamic model combined with a semi-empirical equation of state and transport coefficients, are established to reproduce the behavior of the electrical explosion of aluminum wire. The radial profiles of the density, temperature, current density and magnetic field, addressing the physical scenario of the formation and evolution of the core-corona structure are analyzed. The numerical results are also compared with relevant experimental data.