Understanding Shock-Release Experiments Using a Numerical Simulation of VISAR *

Shock release, or rarefaction, is a ubiquitous yet not well-understood phenomenon. An experiment using planar foils and the velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) diagnostic was performed to quantify the release mass and velocity. A synthetic VISAR diagnostic based upon previous work[1] was developed as another possible analysis tool to compare 1-D hydrodynamics simulations directly with real experimental data. The synthetic VISAR is discussed in detail with an emphasis on constructing useful reflectivity models for future experiments. Discrepancies between the model results and the experiments are discussed in detail with an emphasis on heat transport, equation of state, radiation transport, and 2-D effects.

 

[1] S. Laffite et al., Phys. Plasmas 21, 082705 (2014).