Multi-dimensional high energy density physics modeling and simulation of wire array Z-pinch physics

The twoand three-dimensional ~2D and 3D! versions of ALEGRA-HEDP @A. C. Robinson and C. J. Garasi, ‘‘Three-dimensional Z-pinch wire array modeling,’’ Computer Physics Communications, submitted# have been utilized to simulate discrete wire effects including precursor formation in 2D (r-u plane! and nonuniform axial ablation ~3D!. Comparisons made between 2D and 3D simulations indicate that 2D simulations overestimate the mass ablation rate by a factor of 10–100 with respect to the 3D case, causing pre-mature motion of the array with respect to experimental data. Additionally, the 2D case advects a factor of 5 more current to axis than the 3D case. The integrity of the simulations is assessed by comparing the results to laser imaging of wire ablation and array trajectory information inferred from visible and x-ray imaging. Comparisons to previously proposed ablation models are also presented. These simulations represent the first high-fidelity three-dimensional calculations of wire-array pinch geometries. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1683506#