Electrical Conductivities of Nonideal Iron and Nickel Plasmas

Summary form only given. Electrical conductivities of iron and nickel plasmas are calculated using a nonideal plasma ionization balance model that takes into account the excess free energy due to strong Coulomb coupling between charged particles in the pressure- ionization regime. A linear mixture rule is utilized that takes account of both the electron-ion and electron-neutral collisions. The electrical conductivities calculated for partially ionized plasmas are in fair agreement with data measured in exploding wire discharge experiments and effectively demonstrate the insulator-metal transition near solid densities. A time-dependent one-dimensional MHD simulation is carried out for various metal plasmas including aluminum and copper and shocked water produced by under water explosion of metal wires. For comparison, hydrodynamic behaviors have been measured by a fast framing camera. Comparisons of the temporal behaviors of plasma boundaries and water shock propagations show reasonable agreements. In the early stages of discharge, the calculated electrical conductivities seem to effectively reproduce the measured conductivity behaviors.