Aluminium wire array implosions: comparison of experiments and simulation

A series of aluminum wire array implosions with nearly equal line density have been performed on the DOUBLE EAGLE pulse power generator. The measured implosion times, minimum radii, total radiative yields, K-shell yields, and K-shell pulse widths are compared against radiation-hydromagnetic simulations. The simulations treat the plasma as a uniform shell of finite thickness and include a circuit model for the generator. A short circuit and an enhanced resistivity are added to the simulation models in order to improve the agreement with experimental data. In general the final results are encouraging, but indicate that the present state of simulations is short of providing an accurate predictive capability. (author)