Experimental evidence of foam homogenization

The propagation of an ionization wave through a subcritical foam is studied under inertial confinement fusion conditions. Independent measurements of the ionization wave velocity are compared with hydrodynamic simulations and analytical models. It is shown that simulations of a homogeneous material at equivalent density strongly overestimate the front velocity. The internal foam structure can be accounted for with a simple model of foam homogenization that allows improving agreement between experiment and calculations. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4766470]