A 3-D Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics Model of Electrode Erosion

Results from a smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method of modeling electrode ablation in pulsed power systems are presented. The model follows numerous previous studies on electrode erosion in which the primary mechanism is conductive heat transfer. Total eroded mass as a function of peak current, frequency, and circuit damping were compared to theoretical and experimental data. The results indicate an average of a 16% deviation of the SPH code from the analytical prediction; however, most of the SPH data points qualitatively fall close to or within experimental ranges. The results indicate the potential of the SPH code to effectively model fusion propulsion reactor components for use in space travel.