Circuit-Code Modeling of the Refurbished Z Accelerator: Comparison of Measurements with Predictions

With the successful completion of its refurbishment the Z machine at Sandia is now routinely operating with currents over 26 MA into various loads. Now that the machine is operating we can measure current and voltage at various locations throughout the machine and compare with circuit code predictions. These measurements have led to improvements in the model that provide a more accurate predictive capability. In this paper we describe the full-machine circuit model of Z, and indicate how machine parameters are derived. Many were determined with commercially-available field calculation software, but parameters for switches and other non-linear elements were determined empirically. We show comparisons of circuit code predictions with machine performance. Finally, we show where improvements to the model can yet be made.