David Yanuka - Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

Biographical Data

I obtained my PhD in physics at the Plasma and Pulsed Power Laboratory at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. My research was devoted to studying extreme states of matter obtained by strong converging shock waves generated by underwater electrical explosions of wire arrays. Then I moved on to a postdoctoral fellowship at Imperial College London in the plasma physics group. In addition to continuing my previous research I also carried out research with high velocity flyer plates that generate shock waves in various targets.

EDUCATION

PhD Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Physics 2014-2017

Thesis field: Strong Converging Shock Waves

Advisor: Prof. Yakov Krasik

MSc Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Physics 2012-2014

Thesis field: Strong Converging Shock Waves

Advisor: Prof. Yakov Krasik

BSc Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Physics 2009-2012

Work experience

Research and development at PAM 2020-2023
Postdoctoral researcher, plasma physics group, Imperial College London, 2018-2020

Main areas of research

Research at the Technion’s arc-heated wind tunnel, on high-enthalpy hypersonic flow. Including: plasma diagnostics (spectroscopy, interferometry, scattering), ablation of materials for thermal protection systems, numerical simulations of high-enthalpy flow.

Selected publications

(2019) D. Yanuka, A. Rososhek, S. Theocharous, S. N. Bland, Ya. E. Krasik, M. P. Olbinado, A. Rack, and E. V. Oreshkin. “X-ray radiography of the overheating instability in underwater electrical explosions of wires”. Phys. Plasmas 26, 050703. Editor’s Pick

(2019) D. Yanuka, S. Theocharous, S. Efimov, S. N. Bland, A. Rososhek, Ya. E. Krasik, M. P. Olbinado, and A. Rack. “Synchrotron based X-ray radiography of convergent shock waves driven by underwater electrical explosion of a cylindrical wire array”. J. Appl. Phys. 125, 093301. Featured

(2019) S. P. Theocharous, S. N. Bland, D. Yanuka, A. Rososhek , M. P. Olbinado, A. Rack , and Ya. E. Krasik. “Use of synchrotron-based radiography to diagnose pulsed power driven wire explosion experiments”. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 90, 013504. Editor’s Pick

(2016) D. Yanuka, A. Rososhek, S. Efimov, M. Nitishinskiy, and Ya. E. Krasik. “Time-resolved spectroscopy of light emission from plasma generated by a converging strong shock wave in water”. App. Phys. Lett. 109, 244101.

(2016) D. Yanuka, H. E. Zinowits, O. Antonov, S. Efimov, A. Virozub, and Ya. E. Krasik. “Converging shock waves between conical and parabolic boundaries”. Phys. Plasmas 23, 072704.

(2016) D. Yanuka, S. Efimov, M. Nitishinskiy, A. Rososhek, and Ya. E. Krasik. “Generation of strong pulsed magnetic fields using a compact, short pulse generator”. J. Appl. Phys. 119, 144901.