Thermodynamic parameters of helium under shock-wave and quasi-isentropic compressions at pressures up to 4800 GPa and compression ratios up to 900

Abstract

The thermodynamic parameters of a strongly nonideal helium plasma obtained in experimental devices of hemispherical and spherical geometries are presented. Under shock-wave loading in the hemispherical device, the helium plasma was compressed to a density ρ ≈ 0.76 g cm^–3 by a pressure P ≈ 83 GPa at a temperature T ≈ 51000 K. Two-cascade spherical experimental devices of two types were used under quasi-isentropic helium plasma compression. In the devices of the first type at the same initial gas pressure in both cavities of the shells, the helium plasma was compressed approximately by a factor of 200 to a density ρ ≈ 8 g cm^–3 by a pressure P ≈ 4800 GPa. In the devices of the second type at a ratio of the initial gas pressures in the cavities of about 9: 1, the thermodynamic parameters of a nonideal helium plasma compressed by a factor of 900 to a density ρ ≈ 5 g cm^–3 by a pressure P ≈ 3700 GPa were determined. The compressed-plasma pressure was determined from the results of gasdynamic computations. An X-ray radiograph consisting of three betatrons and a multichannel optoelectronic X-ray imaging system was used to determine the positions of the boundaries of the gaseous-helium-compressing steel shell.