MODELING THE DYNAMICS OF MICRO- AND MACROPARTICLES IN A COMBINED GAS-DISCHARGE INSTALLATION

We present a model of the dynamics of micro- and macroparticles in a combined gas-discharge installation that accounts for the processes of metal explosion ( heating of a metal in its solid state, melting, heating of the liquid metal, intense evaporation, ionization in metal vapor), a magnetohydrodynamic description of plasma acceleration (on the basis of the mass, momentum, and energy conservation laws neglecting the plasma viscosity and thermal conductivity), and a description of the processes of energy transfer from a high-velocity stream to accelerated particles. It has been established that the process of melting terminates in 1.3 ns after the start of the discharge
and that the evaporation terminates in 480 ns. The stage of cooling starts in 21 μs. The average density of the plasma upon completion of the evaporation process can be estimated to be 1.7·10^–5 g/cm³, with the pressure being of the order of 1.5·10 ⁴ Pa and the total time of discharge, of about 250 μs.
   
Author:  V. V. Astashinskii, M. I. Bogach, and A. V. Burachevskii