Semiempirical wide-range conductivity model with exploding wire verification

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Plasma physics
• Materials science

Background:

• Accurate electrical conductivity data is crucial for understanding dense, strongly coupled, partially ionized materials.
• Existing models often lack accuracy across wide ranges of temperature and density.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a semiempirical model for predicting the electrical conductivity of copper under extreme conditions.
• To validate the model against experimental data and demonstrate its utility in simulations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized well-established physical relationships to formulate a semiempirical equation set.
• Empirical coefficients were tuned using experimental conductivity data from exploding wire experiments.
• Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations were employed to test the model's predictive capabilities.

Main Results:

• A wide-range electrical conductivity model for copper was established.
• The model demonstrates accuracy from room temperature-density conditions to 0.01 g/cm³ and 30 kK.
• Successful application of the model in predictive MHD simulations was shown.

Conclusions:

• The developed semiempirical model provides a reliable method for predicting copper's electrical conductivity.
• The model's accuracy and applicability in simulations are validated.
• A comprehensive electrical conductivity dataset for copper has been made publicly accessible.