Comparative analysis of implosions of tungsten single and double planar wire arrays produced on the 1-MA generator at UNR

Summary form only given. Analysis of the results of tungsten single and double planar wire array (PWA) experiments performed on the UNR 1 MA generator "Zebra" is presented. Uniform as well as combined PWAs with Al wires arrays were investigated and compared. Previous spectroscopic work focused on analysis of time-integrated spatially resolved (TISR) stagnation phase data, while this presentation continues and expands that study to include the early implosion plasma stage and more data from recent shots. A full diagnostic set was utilized, including a pulse laser shadowgraphy system, a gated fast intensified CCD (ICCD) camera, an X-ray time-gated pinhole camera, a TISR spectrometer, and a time-gated spatially integrated (TGSI) spectrometer. Non-LTE kinetic modeling is used to describe spectroscopic data for combined PWAs in particular. wire ablation dynamics model is employed to model the implosion and interpret shadowgraphy data. Opacity effects in plasmas from uniform and combined PWAs with Al wires are discussed and compared. The advantage of using the tracer Al wires is emphasized. Applications to current fusion research are also considered.