Microsecond planar wire array implosions on the GIT-12 generator

Experiments with planar wire arrays were carried out on the GIT-12 generator operated in the microsecond mode. Implosions of aluminum planar wire arrays were studied at varying wire diameters, wire gaps, and wire array masses. Depending on the load parameters, the implosion time was in the range from 600 ns to 1300 ns, and the peak implosion current was at the level of 2.2-3.7 MA. The implosion dynamics of planar wire arrays was simulated with the help of 0D-model. The experimental data and the simulation results are in a good agreement when a uniform current distribution in the planar wire array was assumed in the simulation model. The Al K-shell radiation yield was measured for all load configurations. The maximum registered K-shell yield was 6 kJ/cm that is about 1.5 times higher in comparison with the results obtained earlier in the microsecond Z-pinch implosion experiments with the nested wire arrays and gas-puff-on-wire-array loads at comparable peak load currents.