Modeling Warm Dense Matter Experiments using the 3D ALE-AMR Code and the Move Toward Exascale Computing

The Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment II (NDCX II) is an induction accelerator planned for initial commissioning in 2012. The final design calls for a 3 MeV, Li+ ion beam, delivered in a bunch with characteristic pulse duration of 1 ns, and transverse dimension of order 1 mm. The NDCX II will be used in studies of material in the warm dense matter (WDM) regime, and ion beam/hydrodynamic coupling experiments relevant to heavy ion based inertial fusion energy. We discuss recent efforts to adapt the 3D ALE-AMR code to model WDM experiments on NDCX II. The code, which combines Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) hydrodynamics with Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR), has physics models that include ion deposition, radiation hydrodynamics, thermal diffusion, anisotropic material strength with material time history, and advanced models for fragmentation. Experiments at NDCX-II will explore the process of bubble and droplet formation (two-phase expansion) of superheated metal solids using ion beams. Experiments at higher temperatures will explore equation of state and heavy ion fusion beam-to-target energy coupling efficiency. Ion beams allow precise control of local beam energy deposition providing uniform volumetric heating on a timescale shorter than that of hydrodynamic expansion. The ALE-AMR code does not have any export control restrictions and is currently running at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) at LBNL and has been shown to scale well to thousands of CPUs. New surface tension models that are being implemented and applied to WDM experiments. Some of the approaches use a diffuse interface surface tension model that is based on the advective Cahn-Hilliard equations, which allows for droplet breakup in divergent velocity fields without the need for imposed perturbations. Other methods require seeding or other methods for droplet breakup. We also briefly discuss the effects of the move to exascale computing and related computational changes on general modeling codes in fusion energy.