“Zippering” Effect at Aluminum Metal-Puff Liner Implosions on the GIT-12 Pulse Power Generator

The work is devoted to studying a “zippering” effect arising in a process of Al metal-puff liner implosions on the pulse power generator GIT-12 (the load current of 4.7 MA with the rate of 3 kA/ns and the current rise time of 1.7 μs). Since a “zippering”” effect is a consequence of an initial distribution of a conductive substance of a liner plasma shell, consideration of a liner compression dynamics along its height gives an idea about an initial compression conditions of a plasma shells. An influence of a “zippering” effect on an Al K-shell radiation output power is considered. The relationship between a “zippering” effect and a density gradient of the Al metal-puff liners along its axis for various plasma gun designs is considered. An inclination angle of a plasma shell outer boundary varies depending on a plasma gun design. If a plasma jet flows out from a hole in the plasma gun anode, a liner shell with a traditional inclination angle is formed at which a plasma shell expands from cathode to anode. If cathode and anode of a plasma gun are located in the same plane, a liner shell with an inverse inclination angle is formed at which the plasma shell expands from anode to cathode.