Kinetic simulations of the heating of solid density plasma by femtosecond laser pulses

Experiments have been performed in which fs-timescale laser pulses, focused to an intensity ～10¹⁶ W cm^?2, are able to directly create and interact with solid density plasma (1). We have performed one-dimensional simulations of the experiments with a kinetic model which solves Maxwell's equations coupled to the Fokker–Planck equation enabling us to self-consistently model the non-local heat flow and absorption process. We find that the heat-flux is magnetized by the laser field and is inhibited relative to the Spitzer value.     

Detection of fluctuating density gradient flow field in shock wave boundary layer interactions using laser Schlieren system

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of laser Schlieren system in studying unsteady shock motion in important flow phenomena such as shock wave/boundary layer interactions. Time-dependent voltage signals from multichannel measurements reveal important aspects of flow behavior such as amplitude and velocity of shock motion, frequency content, and cross-correlation functions in a very straightforward way. Tests were performed on a Halis axisymmetric configuration in a hypersonic flow with air and CO₂. Received: 8 August 2001 / Accepted: 8 November 2001     

Structure and dynamics of a plasma piston in rail-gun accelerators for solid objects

Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 2, pp. 145–150, March–April, 1989.     

Mixing in plasma and low density jets

This study was undertaken to examine the mechanisms which produce the large entrainment measured near the exit of thermal plasma torches. A research facility was constructed to examine low density jet behavior under similar dimensionless conditions as those produced by thermal plasma spray torches; the Reynolds number based on jet diameter and average properties was 1000, and the ratio of jet to ambient density was 0.07. This very low density jet produced organized vortex structures which were partially responsible for the rapid entrainment of external air. The formation of these organized structures could be disrupted by introducing turbulence, but the rapid entrainment process was not significantly affected. The structure of the jet produced by a commercial plasma torch was examined and compared to the low density research jet. At low gas flow rates the plasma jet also displayed the formation of coherent vortex structures, the passage frequency of which compared favorably with that measured in the low density research jet. At higher gas flow rates the shear layer of the plasma jet rapidly broke down producing relatively small scale turbulence. Visualizations of the hot plasma core were compared against measurements of the torch voltage fluctuations caused by arc instabilities. At low flow rates the arc voltage fluctuations were quite low and the plume was very steady. At higher flow rates the arc voltage fluctuations increased and produced surging and whipping in the hot potential core. It is believed that this low frequency unsteadiness is partially responsible for the rapid entrainment measured in plasma torches.The authors would like to thank Dr. Ron Spores for the extensive use of his data and Mr. Stuart Malmberg for help with the plasma core visualizations. This work was supported by IBM and ONR graduate fellowships. Additional funding for the plasma jet research was provided by the National Science Foundation Grant No. ECR-87-2145 and for the low density jet research by the American Chemical Society Grant No. PFR25238-G7E.     

Entropy generation in laser heating in relation to machining

Entropy generation during laser evaporative heating of solid substrate in relation to machining is considered and entropy generation rate due to different pulse intensities is computed. Energy method is used when simulating the phase change process and mushy zone formation across solid–liquid and liquid–vapor interfaces are accommodated. Since the heating duration is greater than the electron relaxation time, the Fourier heating model based on the equilibrium transport is employed in the simulations. Entropy generation in the substrate material is formulated during laser heating pulse. It is found that entropy generation rate in the surface region of the substrate material attains high values. Increasing power intensity ratio enhances the total entropy generation rate in a non-linear fashion.     

Pulsed laser heating – Fourier and electron kinetic theory approaches

Laser surface pulse heating of engineering metals is in demand in the metal industry and investigation into laser pulse heating becomes fruitful in this regard. Application of Fourier theory to heat conduction due to high power laser irradiation may give closed form solution to the problem. On the other hand, the heat flux through a given plane depends on the electron energy distribution through the material and at the scale of distance required to examine the problem, the material can no longer be considered as being homogeneous continuum, therefore, errors may occur when considering the Fourier theory in laser heating process. The problem requires to be examined in the quantum field. The present study examines the pulse laser heating process when considering both Fourier conduction and electron-kinetic theory approaches. Analytical solution to Fourier conduction equation is obtained for intensity exponential pulses while numerical scheme is introduced to solve the heat transfer equation resulted from kinetic theory approach. It is found that both Fourier and electron kinetic theory approaches result in similar temperature profiles for the pulses having the same energy content. In the case of electron kinetic theory approach the rise time for surface temperature to reach the melting point is shorter than that obtained from the analytical solution. Received on 23 February 1998     

Shock heating of plasma in a rapidly increasing magnetic field

The experimental excitation of intense collisionless shock waves (M 5) with subsequent plasma compression by the magnetic field of a shock coil is described. A magnetic plug > 20 kOe is produced in 100 × 10^–9 sec by a current generator, a long line with 250-kV water insulation and a characteristic impedance of l At an initial deuterium-plasma density of 2 × 10¹⁴ cm^–3, shock waves with a front width of 20c/₀₃and a velocity of 5 × 10₇ cm/sec are recorded. The ion energy after the accumulation, determined from the neutron yield, turns out to be 2 ke V. Axial shock waves excited by the plasma flow beneath the shock coil are observed.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Teknicheskoi Fiziki, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 28–38, March–April, 1970.The authors thank G. I. Budker and R. Z. Sagdeev for formulating the problem, R. I. Soloukhin for interest in the study, and S. P. Shalamov for construction of the apparatus.     

Simulation of the motion and heating of an irregular plasma

A physicomathematical model for plasma heating and confinement is formulated on the basis of some assumptions on the behavior of a dense plasma cloud in a magnetic field. The model allows for the ionization and heating of the plasma cloud by the surrounding deuterium plasma due to heat conduction and heating by a superthermal electron current. The expansion of a plasma cloud in an external magnetic field is studied using some simplifications in a magnetohydrodynamic approximation. Plasma heating is modeled by an external source. The basic equations include continuity, motion, energy, and magneticfield equations. For numerical solution of the problem, we developed a finitedifference scheme of the type of a universal algorithm with splitting into physical processes and spatial directions, which allowed us to obtain separate solutions of the equations of magnetic induction and gas dynamics. Calculations of the propagation of a plasma cloud heated by a source in an external magnetic field were performed. The mechanism of the effect of the magnetic field and heat source on plasma cloud expansion is determined. The results agree qualitatively with experimental data.     

Nonlinear interactions of ion-sound waves and helicons in a plasma

The methods of perturbation theory and statistical averaging over the phases of the oscillations were used to obtain the kinetic wave equations which describe three-plasmon processes involving the merging of two ion-sound waves into a helicon and the scattering of ion-sound by plasma particles with reradiation into a helicon. The rate of accumulation of whistles in a turbulent plasma due to such nonlinear processes is estimated.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 18–25, November–December, 1970.The author thanks L. L Rudakov for supervising the work.     

Nonlinear dynamical magnetosonic wave interactions and collisions in magnetized plasma

The one-dimensional nonlinear dynamical wave interactions in a system of quasineutral two-fluid plasma in a constant magnetic field are investigated.The existence of the travelling wave solutions is discussed.The modulation stability of linear waves and the modulation instability of weakly nonlinear waves are presented.Both suggest that the Korteweg-de Vries(KdV) system is modulationally stable.Besides,the wave interactions including the periodic wave interaction and the solitary wave interactio...     

Increase of the density,temperature and velocity of plasma jets driven by a ring of high energy laser beams

Supersonic plasma outflows driven by multi-beam, high-energy lasers, such as Omega and NIF, have been and will be used as platforms for a variety of laboratory astrophysics experiments. Here we propose a new way of launching high density and high velocity, plasma jets using multiple intense laser beams in a hollow ring formation. We show that such jets provide a more flexible and versatile platform for future laboratory astrophysics experiments. Using high resolution hydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate that the collimated jets can achieve much higher density, temperature and velocity when multiple laser beams are focused to form a hollow ring pattern at the target, instead of focused onto a single spot. We carried out simulations with different ring radii and studied their effects on the jet properties. Implications for laboratory collisionless shock experiments are discussed.     

Population inversion and radiation density in a Q-switched CO2 laser

The mechanism of lasing in a steady-state CO₂ laser has been investigated in [1–3]. In this paper we present a numerical analysis of the processes which occur in a CO₂ laser when the resonator is rapidly Q-switched. It is shown that the transition of the laser into the state with a new Q has an oscillatory form.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 18–23, November–December, 1972.We wish to thank R. I. Soloukhin for his interest and help.     

Correlation between interfacial interactions and internal stresses in filled high density polyethylene

The stress relaxation and the creep behaviour of high density polyethylene (HDPE) filled with glass fibres, clay (plate-like particles) or CaCO₃ (particles with irregular shape) were measured in uniaxial extension at room temperature. It was observed that the addition of filler increased the internal stress level, as evaluated from stress relaxation data. This increase was larger than the corresponding increase in the (short-term) elastic modulus. This behaviour may be attributed to a reduced macromolecular mobility in the matrix material close to the filler surface, i.e. to formation of an interphase region in the HDPE-matrix. From the internal stress values, the thickness of this interphase region around each filler particle was estimated, assuming a uniform coverage of the particles. It was suggested that the amount of matrix material with reduced mobility (or the thickness of the interphase region) reflected the degree of adhesion between the filler and HDPE. The change in the internal stress level due to the incorporation of different fillers, which were surface treated in some cases, was also consistent with the observed creep behaviour.     

基于格子玻耳兹曼的等离子体射流中粉末热运动数值模拟

为了探索快速有效的数值计算方法用于研究等离子体射流中粉末群的热运动状态,本文采用格子玻耳兹曼方法计算等离子体射流,使用随机算法跟踪颗粒,模拟了等离子体射流中粉末的加热和运动。计算结果表明:颗粒温度的变化比速度快,颗粒高速区比高温区的范围大。离射流出口越近,沿射流横截面颗粒轴向平均速度和温度波动越大,能获得沿射流横截面方向温度速度较高且分布均匀的位置区间为距离射流出口150 mm~200 mm。实测的粒子温度与速度和计算结果吻合较好,验证了本模型的有效性。论文研究为等离子体加工工艺条件的制定提供了依据。     

Nonlinear interactions of langmuir waves in a weakly inhomogeneous plasma

Kinetic equations for the scattering of the waves of the one-dimensional spectrum by plasma particles are obtained for a weakly inhomogeneous plasma. The equation for the evolution of the spectrum of the short waves [k² > (m_e/m_i) D_e ^–2] trapped in the inhomogeneities of the plasma density differs significantly from the kinetic equation for the waves in a homogeneous plasma. The problem of localization on the spectrum of the Langmuir waves in regions near the minima of the plasma density is also considered. A solution of the kinetic equation for the waves, which describes this process, is obtained.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 6–13, November–December, 1972.In conclusion, the author thanks A. S. Kingsep for suggesting the problem and for directing the work.     

Diagnostics of dielectronic processes in laser produced samarium plasma

Spatially-resolved time-integrated X-ray spectra of laser produced samarium plasma were recorded, in the spectral range from 7 to 10 Å. The spectrum of samarium is characterized by the prominent pattern of transitions 3d – nf (n = 4–7) belonging to Co-like (Sm³⁵⁺), Ni-like (Sm³⁴⁺) and Cu-like (Sm³³⁺) ions. Spectral lines of Mn-like (Sm³⁷⁺) to Zn-like (Sm³²⁺) were identified. The appearance of these ionization stages as a function of distance from the target was measured. Transfer of the dominant ion stages to lower stages with increasing distance from the original target surface was demonstrated, probably indicating dielectronic recombination. The Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore Atomic Code was used to generate emission spectra for comparison with the experimental ones.A radiation-hydrodynamics code coupled to three non-Local Thermal Equilibrium ionization and equation of state models with different approaches for dielectronic processes was used to model the plasma. The simulated plasma ionization and electron densities and temperatures were found to be consistent with the experimental results.