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Knauer, J

Publications and source records attributed to Knauer, J.

16 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Diagnosing residual motion via the x-ray self emission from indirectly driven inertial confinement implosions

In an indirectly driven implosion, non-radial translational motion of the compressed fusion capsule is a signature of residual kinetic energy not coupled into the compressional heating of the target. A reduction in compression reduces the peak pressure and nuclear performance of the implosion. Measuring and reducing the residual motion of the implosion is therefore necessary to improve performance and isolate other effects that degrade performance. Using the gated x-ray diagnostic, the x-ray Bremsstrahlung emission from the compressed capsule is spatially and temporally resolved at x-ray energies of >8.7 keV, allowing for measurements of the residual velocity. Here details of the x-ray velocity measurement and fitting routine will be discussed and measurements will be compared to the velocities inferred from the neutron time of flight detectors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Mode 1 drive asymmetry in inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility

Mode 1 radiation drive asymmetry (pole-to-pole imbalance) at significant levels can have a large impact on inertial confinement fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This asymmetry distorts the cold confining shell and drives a high-speed jet through the hot spot. The perturbed hot spot shows increased residual kinetic energy and reduced internal energy, and it achieves reduced pressure and neutron yield. The altered implosion physics manifests itself in observable diagnostic signatures, especially the neutron spectrum which can be used to measure the neutron-weighted flow velocity, apparent ion temperature, and neutron downscattering. Numerical simulations of implosions with mode 1 asymmetry show that the resultant simulated diagnostic signatures are moved toward the values observed in many NIF experiments. The diagnostic output can also be used to build a set of integrated implosion performance metrics. The metrics indicate that P{sub 1} has a significant impact on implosion performance and must be carefully controlled in NIF implosions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Measurements of collective fuel velocities in deuterium-tritium exploding pusher and cryogenically layered deuterium-tritium implosions on the NIF

For the first time, quantitative measurements of collective fuel velocities in Inertial Confinement Fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility are reported. Velocities along the line-of-sight (LOS) of the Magnetic Recoil neutron Spectrometer (MRS), positioned close to the equator (73 Degree-Sign -324 Degree-Sign ), were inferred from the measured mean energy of the deuterium-tritium (DT)-primary neutron peak. Substantial mean energy shifts up to 113 {+-} 16 keV were observed in DT gas-filled exploding-pusher implosions, driven in a polar-direct drive configuration, which corresponds to bulk fuel velocities up to 210 {+-} 30 km/s. In contrast, only marginal bulk fuel velocities along the MRS LOS were observed in cryogenically layered DT implosions. Integrated analysis of data from a large number of cryogenically layered implosions has recently identified a deficit in achieved hot-spot energy of {approx}3 kJ for these implosions [C. Cerjan et al., Phys. Plasmas (2013)]. One hypothesis that could explain this missing energy is a collective, directional fuel velocity of {approx}190 km/s. As only marginal bulk fuel velocities are observed in the MRS data, this might indicate that turbulent or radial flows would be a likely explanation for the missing energy. However, a directional velocity close to perpendicular to the MRS LOS cannot be ruled out.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Measuring the absolute DT neutron yield using the Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer at OMEGA and the NIF

A Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MRS) has been installed and extensively used on OMEGA and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) for measurements of the absolute neutron spectrum from inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. From the neutron spectrum measured with the MRS, many critical implosion parameters are determined including the primary DT neutron yield, the ion temperature, and the down-scattered neutron yield. As the MRS detection efficiency is determined from first principles, the absolute DT neutron yield is obtained without cross-calibration to other techniques. The MRS primary DT neutron measurements at OMEGA and the NIF are shown to be in excellent agreement with previously established yield diagnostics on OMEGA, and with the newly commissioned nuclear activation diagnostics on the NIF.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2012

Neutron spectrometry - An essential tool for diagnosing implosions at the National Ignition Facility

DT neutron yield (Y{sub n}), ion temperature (T{sub i}) and down-scatter ratio (dsr) determined from measured neutron spectra are essential metrics for diagnosing the performance of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). A suite of neutron-Time-Of-Flight (nTOF) spectrometers and a Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MRS) have been implemented in different locations around the NIF target chamber, providing good implosion coverage and the redundancy required for reliable measurements of Yn, Ti and dsr. From the measured dsr value, an areal density ({rho}R) is determined from the relationship {rho}R{sub tot} (g/cm{sup 2}) = (20.4 {+-} 0.6) x dsr{sub 10-12 MeV}. The proportionality constant is determined considering implosion geometry, neutron attenuation and energy range used for the dsr measurement. To ensure high accuracy in the measurements, a series of commissioning experiments using exploding pushers have been used for in situ calibration. The spectrometers are now performing to the required accuracy, as indicated by the good agreement between the different measurements over several commissioning shots. In addition, recent data obtained with the MRS and nTOFs indicate that the implosion performance of cryogenically layered DT implosions, characterized by the experimental Ignition Threshold Factor (ITFx) which is a function of dsr (or fuel {rho}R) and Y{sub n}, has improved almost two orders of magnitude since the first shot in September, 2010.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2011

JINA Workshop Nuclear Physics in Hot Dense Dynamic Plasmas

Measuring NEET and NEEC is relevant for probing stellar cross-sections and testing atomic models in hot plasmas. Using NEEC and NEET we can excite nuclear levels in laboratory plasmas: (1) NIF: Measure effect of excited nuclear levels on (n,{gamma}) cross-sections, 60% and never been measured; (2) Omega, Test cross-sections for creating these excited levels via NEEC and NEET. Will allow us to test models that estimate resonance overlap of atomic states with the nucleus: (1) Average Atom model (AA) (CEA&LLNL), single average wave-function potential; (2) Super Transition Array (STA) model (LLNL), More realistic individual configuration potentials NEET experimental data is scarce and not in a plasma environment, NEEC has not yet been observed.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2010

Spike morphology in blast-wave-driven instability experiments

The laboratory experiments described in the present paper observe the blast-wave-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability with three-dimensional (3D) initial conditions. About 5 kJ of energy from the Omega laser creates conditions similar to those of the He-H interface during the explosion phase of a supernova. The experimental target is a 150 {mu}m thick plastic disk followed by a low-density foam. The plastic piece has an embedded, 3D perturbation. The basic structure of the pattern is two orthogonal sine waves where each sine wave has an amplitude of 2.5 {mu}m and a wavelength of 71 {mu}m. In some experiments, an additional wavelength is added to explore the interaction of modes. In experiments with 3D initial conditions the spike morphology differs from what has been observed in other Rayleigh-Taylor experiments and simulations. Under certain conditions, experimental radiographs show some mass extending from the interface to the shock front. Current simulations show neither the spike morphology nor the spike penetration observed in the experiments. The amount of mass reaching the shock front is analyzed and potential causes for the spike morphology and the spikes reaching the shock are discussed. One such hypothesis is that these phenomena may be caused by magnetic pressure, generated by an azimuthal magnetic field produced by the plasma dynamics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

National Ignition Facility (NIF) Neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) Measurements

The first three of eighteen neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) channels have been installed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The role of these detectors includes yield, temperature, and bang time measurements. This article focuses on nTOF data analysis and quality of results obtained for the first set of experiments to use all 192 NIF beams. Targets produced up to 2 x 10{sup 10} 2.45-MeV neutrons for initial testing of the nTOF detectors. Differences in neutron scattering at the OMEGA laser facility where the detectors were calibrated and at NIF result in different response functions at the two facilities. Monte Carlo modeling shows this difference. The nTOF performance on these early experiments indicates the nTOF system with its full complement of detectors should perform well in future measurements of yield, temperature, and bang time.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗