High-Yield High-Efficiency Positron Generation in High-Z Metal Targets Irradiated by Laser Produced Electrons from Near-Critical Density Plasmas

An improved indirect scheme for laser positron generation is proposed. The positron yields in high-ZZ metal targets irradiated by laser produced electrons from near-critical density plasmas and underdense plasma are investigated numerically. It is found that the positron yield is mainly affected by the number of electrons of energies up to several hundreds of MeV. Using near-critical density targets for electron acceleration, the number of high energy electrons can be increased dramatically. Through start-to-end simulations, it is shown that up to 6.78×10106.78×1010 positrons can be generated with state-of-the-art Joule-class femtosecond laser systems.

Dependence of impact regime boundaries on the initial temperatures of projectiles and targets

Towards higher impact velocities,ballistic events are increasingly determined by the material temperatures.Related effects might range from moderate thermal softening to full phase transition.In particular,it is of great interest to quantify the conditions for incipient or full melting of metals during impact interactions,which result in a transition from still strength-affected to hydrodynamic material behavior.In this work,we investigate to which extent the respective melting thresholds are also dependent on the initial,and generally elevated,temperatures of projectiles and targets before impact.This is studied through the application of a model developed recently by the authors to characterize the transition regime between high-velocity and hypervelocity impact,for which the melting thresholds of materials were used as the defining quantities.The obtained results are expected to be of general interest for ballistic application cases where projectiles or targets are preheated.Such conditions might result,for example,from aerodynamic forces acting onto a projectile during atmospheric flight,explosive shapedcharge-jet formation or armor exposure to environmental conditions.The performed analyses also broaden the scientific understanding of the relevance of temperature in penetration events,generally known since the 1960s,but often not considered thoroughly in impact studies.

Data-driven prediction of dimensionless quantities for semi-infinite target penetration by integrating machine-learning and feature selection methods

This study employs a data-driven methodology that embeds the principle of dimensional invariance into an artificial neural network to automatically identify dominant dimensionless quantities in the penetration of rod projectiles into semi-infinite metal targets from experimental measurements.The derived mathematical expressions of dimensionless quantities are simplified by the examination of the exponent matrix and coupling relationships between feature variables.As a physics-based dimension reduction methodology,this way reduces high-dimensional parameter spaces to descriptions involving only a few physically interpretable dimensionless quantities in penetrating cases.Then the relative importance of various dimensionless feature variables on the penetration efficiencies for four impacting conditions is evaluated through feature selection engineering.The results indicate that the selected critical dimensionless feature variables by this synergistic method,without referring to the complex theoretical equations and aiding in the detailed knowledge of penetration mechanics,are in accordance with those reported in the reference.Lastly,the determined dimensionless quantities can be efficiently applied to conduct semi-empirical analysis for the specific penetrating case,and the reliability of regression functions is validated.

Predicting the penetration of long rods into semi-infinite metallic targets

Analytical equations are presented herein to predict the penetration of semi-infinite metallic targets struck normally by long rods at high velocities for Yp<S where Yp is the rod strength and S is the static target resistance.The equations are derived based on energy balance method.It is assumed that the kinetic energy loss of a long rod is related to the energy dissipated by the plastic deformations in the target,the energy consumed by the long-rod penetrator itself and the energy carried by the eroded rod debris.Secondary penetration is also examined in the present paper due to the fact that the eroded rod debris forms a tube which can penetrate the target further if the density of the rod is greater than that of the target and the impact velocity is high enough.The present analytical equation is found to be in good agreement with the experimental data for a wide range of impact velocities.

Analytical solutions for finite cylindrical dynamic cavity expansion in compressible elastic-plastic materials

Analytical solutions for the dynamic cylindrical cavity expansion in a com-pressible elastic-plastic cylinder with a finite radius are developed by taking into account of the effect of lateral free boundary, which are different from the traditional cavity expan-sion models for targets with infinite dimensions. The finite cylindrical cavity expansion process begins with an elastic-plastic stage followed by a plastic stage. The elastic-plastic stage ends and the plastic stage starts when the plastic wave front reaches the lateral free boundary. Approximate solutions of radial stress on cavity wall are derived by using the Von-Mise yield criterion and Forrestal’s similarity transformation method. The effects of the lateral free boundary and finite radius on the radial stress on the cavity wall are discussed, and comparisons are also conducted with the finite cylindrical cavity expansion in incompressible elastic-plastic materials. Numerical results show that the lateral free boundary has significant influence on the cavity expansion process and the radial stress on the cavity wall of metal cylinder with a finite radius.