Microfireballs in stratified target chamber gases in the light ion target development facility. Final report, September 9, 1983-September 30, 1985

An investigation was made to determine if the use of multiple layered cavity gases with different opacities could reduce the overpressure on the diodes or on diagnostic equipment placed below the target in a light ion beam chamber. The target chamber was taken as a right circular cylinder. The cavity gases were then segregated into the two regions; the top region would contain an optically transparent gas. The hypothesis is that once the radiation front of the fireball has reached the gas interface, ''venting'' of the radiation upward would then result in a nonspherical hydrodynamic expansion of the fireball in region B and thus reduce the pressure loading in the radial and downward axial directions. To test this theory, a 2-D eulerian radiation fluid dynamics computer code was written. The 2-T diffusion approximation was used for modeling the radiation field