Suite for Smooth Particle Hydrodynamic Code Relevant to Spherical Plasma Liner Formation and Implosion

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) modeling of magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) is at a nascent stage of development. A suite of test cases relevant to plasma liner formation and implosion is presented to present the community with some exact solutions for verification of hydrocodes pertaining to MIF confinement concepts. MIF is of particular interest to fusion research, as it may lead to the development of smaller and more economical reactor designs for power and propulsion. The authors present simulated test cases using a new smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) code called SPFMax. These test cases consist of a total of six problems with analytical solutions that incorporate the physics of radiation cooling, heat transfer, oblique-shock capturing, angular-momentum conservation, and viscosity effects. These physics are pertinent to plasma liner formation and implosion by merging of a spherical array of plasma jets as a candidate standoff driver for MIF. An L2 norm analysis was conducted for each test case. Each test case was found to converge to the analytical solution with increasing resolution, and the convergence rate was on the order of what has been reported by other SPH studies.