Measuring the principle Hugoniot of low-density silica aerogel foam at pressures up to 160 GPa
Abstract
Low-density foams are of significant interest in inertial confinement fusion (ICF), with potential applications as fuel carriers, ablation layers, or as a hohlraum filling material. Despite their potential, the shock response of these materials remains poorly characterized, limiting the accuracy of hydrodynamic simulations. Here we report experimental measurements of the equation of state for 90 mg/cm 3 silica ( SiO 2 ) aerogel foam under laser-driven shock compression, conducted at the GEKKO XII laser facility. Shock pressures between 50 and 160 GPa were achieved, and the corresponding states were determined using standard impedance-matching techniques with a quartz reference material. Initial measurements appeared to underestimate the foam shock velocity relative to predictions by the Quotidian Equation of State (QEOS) model. Experimental diagnostics indicated the presence of a vacuum gap between the reference material and the foam. The vacuum gaps were characterized, and one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations were conducted to estimate their impact on the measured shock velocity. After applying simulation-based corrections, the experimental Hugoniot aligns closely with QEOS predictions, supporting the model's applicability to low-density foams.
Related
- Measuring electron density and electromagnetic fields in low-density laser-driven plasmas using proton radiography
- Tangential Surface Pressures and Boundary Localization in Disordered Edwards--Anderson Models
- Probabilistic Symbolic-Distillation Model of Droplet Collision for Spray Simulation at High Ambient Pressures
- Single-crystal X-ray diffraction of BC8 carbon near terapascal pressures
- An All-Atom Model of the Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Aerogel Skeleton from DFT and Molecular Dynamics: Validation and Iron Incorporation
BibTeX
@article{lee2026measuring,
title = {{Measuring the principle Hugoniot of low-density silica aerogel foam at pressures up to 160 GPa}},
author = {Jordan Lee and Peter Norreys and Robert Paddock and Matthew Oliver and Pawala Ariyathilaka and Christopher Spindloe and Donna Wyatt and Samuel Irving and Ben Fisher and Nigel Woolsey and Stavros Bakandreas and Bruno Albertazzi and Michel Koenig and Piotr Rączka and Takayoshi Sano and Alexis Amouretti and Naoki Yamagata and Kai Taketoshi and Kosuke Nishitani and Norimasa Ozaki},
journal = {Physical Review E},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1103/t226-ngw5},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05760572v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Measuring the principle Hugoniot of low-density silica aerogel foam at pressures up to 160 GPa
AU - Jordan Lee
AU - Peter Norreys
AU - Robert Paddock
AU - Matthew Oliver
AU - Pawala Ariyathilaka
AU - Christopher Spindloe
AU - Donna Wyatt
AU - Samuel Irving
AU - Ben Fisher
AU - Nigel Woolsey
AU - Stavros Bakandreas
AU - Bruno Albertazzi
AU - Michel Koenig
AU - Piotr Rączka
AU - Takayoshi Sano
AU - Alexis Amouretti
AU - Naoki Yamagata
AU - Kai Taketoshi
AU - Kosuke Nishitani
AU - Norimasa Ozaki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Physical Review E
DO - 10.1103/t226-ngw5
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05760572v1
AB - Low-density foams are of significant interest in inertial confinement fusion (ICF), with potential applications as fuel carriers, ablation layers, or as a hohlraum filling material. Despite their potential, the shock response of these materials remains poorly characterized, limiting the accuracy of hydrodynamic simulations. Here we report experimental measurements of the equation of state for 90 mg/cm 3 silica ( SiO 2 ) aerogel foam under laser-driven shock compression, conducted at the GEKKO XII laser facility. Shock pressures between 50 and 160 GPa were achieved, and the corresponding states were determined using standard impedance-matching techniques with a quartz reference material. Initial measurements appeared to underestimate the foam shock velocity relative to predictions by the Quotidian Equation of State (QEOS) model. Experimental diagnostics indicated the presence of a vacuum gap between the reference material and the foam. The vacuum gaps were characterized, and one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations were conducted to estimate their impact on the measured shock velocity. After applying simulation-based corrections, the experimental Hugoniot aligns closely with QEOS predictions, supporting the model's applicability to low-density foams.
SN - 2470-0045
SN - 2470-0053
ER -