title: Effect of soft metal gasket contacts on contact resistance, energy deposition, and plasma expansion profile in a wire array Z pinch.
abstract: Soft metal gaskets (indium and silver) were used to reduce contact resistance between the wire and the electrode in an aluminum wire Z pinch by more than an order of magnitude over the best weighted contact case. Clamping a gasket over a Z-pinch wire compresses the wire to the electrode with a greater normal force than possible with wire weights. Average contact resistance was reduced from the range of 100-3000 Omega (depending on wire weight mass) to 1-10 Omega with soft metal gaskets. Single wire experiments (13 microm Al 5056) on a 16 kA, 100 kV Marx bank showed an increase in light emission (97%) and emission volume (100%) of the plasma for the reduced contact resistance cases. The measured increases in plasma volume and light emission indicate greater energy deposition in the ablated wire. Additionally, dual-wire experiments showed plasma edge effects were significantly decreased in the soft metal gasket contact case. The average height of the edge effects was reduced by 51% and the width of the edge effects was increased by 40%, thus the gasket contact case provided greater axial uniformity in the plasma expansion profile of an individual wire.
authors.affiliation: Plasma, Pulsed Power, and Microwave Laboratory, Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2104, USA.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Zier
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gilgenbach
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lau