Simulation of Electric Explosion of Metal Wires Vladimir I. Oreshkin a , Rina B. Baksht a , Alexander G. Rousskikh a , Alexander V. Shishlov a , Pavel R. Levashov b , Igor V. Lomonosov b , Konstantin V. Khishchenko b , Igor V. Glazyrin c a High Current Electronics Institute, 4 Academichesky Ave., Tomsk, 634055, Russia b Institute of High Temperatures RAN, 13119 Izhorskay Str., Moscow, 127412, Russia c RFNC - Zababakhin Institute of Technical Physics, P.O.Box 245, Snejinsk, 456770, Russia Abstract. This paper presents the results of study on the explosion of Al and W wires in water under various conditions, i.e., under the conditions of varying current rise time and conductor radius. For MHD simulation, use is made of different models of conduction. Based on comparison between experimental and numerical results, it is concluded that these models ensure adequate interpretation of experimental results. INTRODUCTION Recent experiments on the Z-generator [1] have been met with success. In these experiments, record-breaking soft X-ray yields (higher than 1.5 MJ) have been obtained, thus stimulating interest in studies of electrically exploding thin metal wires. For the most part, the objective of these studies is to investigate the initial stage of the electric explosion of wires (EEW) — the transformation of a conductor from the metal to plasma state, the formation of a low-density plasma corona surrounding a more dense core, and the formation of a precursor in multi-wire arrays. The EEW is conventionally simulated in the magnetic-hydrodynamic (MHD) approximation. Numerical calculations within the framework of such approximation necessitate a priory knowledge of the equations of state of a substance for a wide range of its thermodynamic parameters and also of transport coefficients, of which the most important one is electric conductivity. Unlike the thermodynamic properties of metals, which can be described using various semiempirical models and data bases, the problems associated with the transport coefficients in the region of the "metal - dielectric transition" and near the critical point are less understood. On the one hand, experiments and MHD simulation of the EEW provide information on the electric conductivity of a substance in this region and, one the other hand, they allow judging the correctness of one or another model of conduction. In this sense, it is more interesting to investigate the EEW in a liquid dielectric, rather than in vacuum (where the phenomena, such as the strata formation, the gas desorption from the metal surface etc. show themselves up, being directly associated with the transport properties of conductors). CP651, Dense Z-Pinches: 5 th International Conference on Dense Z-Pinches, edited by J. Davis et al. © 2002 American Institute of Physics 0-7354-0108-X/02/$ 19.00 384