Numerical simulation of cableguns using MACH2

A radiation-driven ablation model was developed for the MHD code MACH2 to provide a numerical simulation for cableguns. Ablation from the insulator surface is driven by radiation from an optically thin gray gas in the computational domain adjacent to the insulator surface. Two parameters required for the model-specific opacity and vapor layer transmissivity-were determined from baseline experiments. Using these parameter values, numerical simulations for five additional cablegun configurations were compared with experimental measurements obtained using a two-beam laser interferometer. Equations of state models for copper-Teflon and polyethylene plasmas were calculated for use in these simulations. Comparisons were made for radial profiles of electron density, plume velocity, and plume width. Based on the results obtained in this study, it appears that MACH2 simulations can be used to provide reasonable estimates of cablegun plume properties that are difficult or impossible to obtain experimentally, such as the spatial flow details inside the cavity or the temporal distribution of mass loss.