Shock propagation in deuterium-tritium-saturated foam

Adaptive-mesh-refinement hydrodynamic simulations have been performed of cross sections of fibrous foams saturated with cryogenic deuterium and tritium (DT). Material tracking indicates that the fibers and DT mix rapidly behind the shock. In addition, fluctuation decay lengths are on the order of a micron even in the absence of radiative and thermal energy transport. Outside the mix region, the Rankine–Hugoniot equations are satisfied to the degree to which the turbulence and transverse motion decay, a few percent or less. Simulations also show that the shock-front perturbations decay rapidly after the shock leaves the foam and enters a layer of DT ice, suggesting that the foam microstructure will not contribute to feedthrough.