Splash flow from a metal plate hit by an electron beam pulse
When a pulsed electron beam hits a metal plate with sufficient energy a volume of the metal becomes hot fluid that subsequently sprays out of the plate. A second pulse of electrons traveling toward the plate would scatter and degrade before impacting the solid plate because of its encounter with the diffuse material of the initial splash. People designing electron beam machines for use as pulsed radiation sources wish to eliminate the interaction between the electrons and the splash because they want sharp radiation pulses emitted from the solid plate. This report presents a compressible fluid model of this splash flow and compares specific cases with experiments and comprehensive calculations performed by B. DeVolder and others at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, see reference (1). My aim was to develop as simple a theory as possible to calculate the speed and density of the splash flow. I have used both simplifying assumptions and mathematical approximations to develop convenient formulas. As I wished to make a clear and interesting presentation of this work to a diverse audience that includes people outside the specialty of fluid dynamics, some of my descriptions may seem wordier than necessary. The plan of the report is as follows. In the section called ``energy deposition`` I describe how an electron beam deposits energy in a solid plate, converting some of the material into a hot fluid. The initial temperature of this fluid is the key parameter in determining the nature of the subsequent flow; an explicit formula is shown. Flow occurs in two regions: along a streamtube within the metal plate and as an expanding plume outside the metal plate. Flow within the plate is described in the section called ``isentropic flow.`` This flow occurs as expansion waves move at the speed of sound through the streamtube. The analysis of this flow provides a formula for the mass flow over time from the plate into the external splash. The section called ``centered expansion`` elaborates on the nature of certain approximations I have made in treating the wave phenomena in both the streamtube and splash flows. The section called ``splash flow`` presents a formula to describe the material density as a function of space and time outside the plate. This formula depends on the time- dependent material density at the plate, which was found during the streamtube analysis. The section called ``examples`` shows the results of specific calculations and a comparison to computational and experimental results described in reference (1). The final section, ``possible future work,`` poses new questions.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 302198
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-128660; ON: DE98052093
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Sep 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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