FLEXO: Next Generation Capabilities for Pulsed Power Experimental Design

The physics of low-density plasmas and their role in Pulsed Power target dynamics is poorly understood, representing a key risk not only to experiments fielded on Sandia's Z Machine, but also for a future pulsed power facility. To incorporate the physics of these plasmas into experimental design requires understanding the role of electron inertia, Hall physics, and displacement currents (extended-magnetohydrodynamics)‘ a formidable challenge, which current experimental design codes do not address. The Flux-Limited Extended Ohm's law (FLEXO) project, underway at Sandia National Laboratories, is an initiative to access such a higher fidelity design space. FLEXO combines highly-scalable, GPU-enabled adaptive mesh refinement algorithms with advanced methods for solving the equations of extended-magnetohydrodynamics, along with multi-material algorithms, advanced equation of state and conductivity models. This combination provides the pulsed-power experimental design community with a fast, three-dimensional tool that incorporates the physics of low-density plasmas over a broad range of parameter space. This talk will provide an overview of the motivation of the effort, the algorithms implemented, verification practices, and initial demonstration of a target design capability using FLEXO.