Overview and progress of materials compressibility experiments using the NIF ramp compression platform

Accurately simulating material response under extreme conditions is important to many fields. Using sophisticated hydrodynamic codes, we can model giant impacts, planetary formation, and inertial confinement fusion implosions. The degree to which these simulations reflect reality, however, is dependent on how well we understand the materials and physics involved. Dynamic compression experiments are one of our vital tools for improving our understanding of material properties under extreme conditions, and I will be presenting on the development and status of the Ramp Compression Campaign on the National Ignition Facility. Obtaining high-precision, accurate ramp-compression data on materials under extreme conditions requires a well-validated platform. To date, we have addressed key issues in the development of ramp compression on the NIF: we have demonstrated the ability to ramp-compress metals to high pressure, including Ta to over 23 TPa, we have developed analysis tools and experimental design predictive capability, and we have performed cross-platform equation of state (EOS) experiments validating the NIF platform.