Two dimensional simulation of high power laser-surface interaction

Conference · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1998

OSTI ID:638213

Goldman, S R; Wilke, M D; Green, R E.L.; Johnson, R P ^[1]; Busch, G E ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
2. KMS Fusion, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

For laser intensities in the range of 10{sup 8}--10{sup 9} W/cm{sup 2}, and pulse lengths of order 10 {micro}sec or longer, the authors have modified the inertial confinement fusion code Lasnex to simulate gaseous and some dense material aspects of the laser-matter interaction. The unique aspect of their treatment consists of an ablation model which defines a dense material-vapor interface and then calculates the mass flow across this interface. The model treats the dense material as a rigid two-dimensional mass and heat reservoir suppressing all hydrodynamic motion in the dense material. The computer simulations and additional post-processors provide predictions for measurements including impulse given to the target, pressures at the target interface, electron temperatures and densities in the vapor-plasma plume region, and emission of radiation from the target. The authors will present an analysis of some relatively well diagnosed experiments which have been useful in developing their modeling. The simulations match experimentally obtained target impulses, pressures at the target surface inside the laser spot, and radiation emission from the target to within about 20%. Hence their simulational technique appears to form a useful basis for further investigation of laser-surface interaction in this intensity, pulse-width range. This work is useful in many technical areas such as materials processing.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 638213
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--98-749; CONF-980447--; ON: DE98003711
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
ABLATION
EVAPORATION
LASER RADIATION
LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA
MATERIALS
MODIFICATIONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS