Rayleigh--Taylor spike evaporation
Laser-based experiments have shown that Rayleigh--Taylor (RT) growth in thin, perturbed copper foils leads to a phase dominated by narrow spikes between thin bubbles. These experiments were well modeled and diagnosed until this '' spike'' phase, but not into this spike phase. Experiments were designed, modeled, and performed on the OMEGA laser [T. R. Boehly, D. L. Brown, R. S. Craxton , Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] to study the late-time spike phase. To simulate the conditions and evolution of late time RT, a copper target was fabricated consisting of a series of thin ridges (spikes in cross section) 150 {mu}m apart on a thin flat copper backing. The target was placed on the side of a scale-1.2 hohlraum with the ridges pointing into the hohlraum, which was heated to 190 eV. Side-on radiography imaged the evolution of the ridges and flat copper backing into the typical RT bubble and spike structure including the '' mushroom-like feet'' on the tips of the spikes. RAGE computer models [R. M. Baltrusaitis, M. L. Gittings, R. P. Weaver, R. F. Benjamin, and J. M. Budzinski, Phys. Fluids 8, 2471 (1996)] show the formation of the '' mushrooms,'' as well as how the backing material converges to lengthen the spike. The computer predictions of evolving spike and bubble lengths match measurements fairly well for the thicker backing targets but not for the thinner backings.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 40277874
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 8; ISSN 1070-664X
- Publisher:
- The American Physical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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