Modeling the CESZAR Gas-Puff Z Pinch in the Radiation-Magnetohydrodynamic FLASH Code

The gas-puff Z pinch (GPZP) has a myriad of applications in high-energy-density physics as a source of intense x rays/neutrons and potential in nuclear fusion. Recent experiments at CESZAR¹ drove GPZP’s with a linear transformer driver that achieves 0.5-MA current and <200-ns rise times without pulse compression, demonstrating high energy-coupling efficiency to the load. These properties, combined with the high shot rates possible, make CESZAR an ideal platform for parameter scans and benchmarking of models. Here we present the Z-pinch simulation capabilities in FLASH, which we verify with code-to-code comparisons to published HYDRA results² and validate with CESZAR experimental data. We study the effects of thermal and radiative energy losses on instability growth and characterize the dynamical evolution in multiple gas-puff configurations to aid in experimental design.