Engineering topics

Tang, Vincent

Publications and source records attributed to Tang, Vincent.

11 records

DOE OSTI2023

Neutron generation using pyroelectric crystals

A method for producing a neutrons includes producing a voltage of negative polarity of at least −100 keV on a surface of a deuterated or tritiated target in response to a temperature change of a pyroelectric crystal of less than about 40° C., the pyroelectric crystal having the deuterated or tritiated target coupled thereto, pulsing a deuterium ion source to produce a deuterium ion beam, accelerating the deuterium ion beam to the deuterated or tritiated target, and directing the ion beam onto the deuterated or tritiated target to make neutrons using at least one element of the following: a voltage of the pyroelectric crystal and a high gradient insulator (HGI) surrounding the pyroelectric crystal. The accelerating of the deuterium ion beam is achieved by using an ion accelerating mechanism comprising a pyroelectric stack accelerator having a first thermal altering mechanism for changing a temperature of the pyroelectric stack accelerator.

Tang, Vincent↗

DOE OSTI2023

Performance scaling with an applied magnetic field in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions

Magnetizing a cryogenic deuterium–tritium (DT)-layered inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosion can improve performance by reducing thermal conduction and improving DT-alpha confinement in the hot spot. A room-temperature, magnetized indirect-drive ICF platform at the National Ignition Facility has been developed, using a high-Z, high-resistivity AuTa 4 alloy as the hohlraum wall material. Experiments show a 2.5× increase in deuterium–deuterium (DD) neutron yield and a 0.8-keV increase in hot-spot temperature with the application of a 12-T B-field. Further, for an initial 26-T B-field, we observed a 2.9× yield increase and a 1.1-keV temperature increase, with the inferred burn-averaged B-field in the compressed hot spot estimated to be 7.1 ± 1.8 kT using measured primary DD-n and secondary DT-n neutron yields.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

The MEC-U Project at LCLS

Here, we describe the Matter in Extreme Conditions Upgrade (MEC-U) project, co-locating kilojoule long pulse and high repetition rate petawatt lasers with LCLS in a new experimental hall at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2021

Neutron generation using pyroelectric crystals

According to one embodiment, a method for producing a directed neutron beam includes producing a voltage of negative polarity of at least −100 keV on a surface of a deuterated or tritiated target in response to a temperature change of a pyroelectric crystal of less than about 40° C., the pyroelectric crystal having the deuterated or tritiated target coupled thereto, pulsing a deuterium ion source to produce a deuterium ion beam, accelerating the deuterium ion beam to the deuterated or tritiated target to produce a neutron beam, and directing the ion beam onto the deuterated or tritiated target to make neutrons using at least one of a voltage of the pyroelectric crystal, and a high gradient insulator (HGI) surrounding the pyroelectric crystal. The directionality of the neutron beam is controlled by changing the accelerating voltage of the system. Other methods are presented as well.

Tang, Vincent↗

DOE OSTI2017

Neutron interrogation systems using pyroelectric crystals and methods of preparation thereof

According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes a pyroelectric crystal, a deuterated or tritiated target, an ion source, and a common support coupled to the pyroelectric crystal, the deuterated or tritiated target, and the ion source. In another embodiment, a method includes producing a voltage of negative polarity on a surface of a deuterated or tritiated target in response to a temperature change of a pyroelectric crystal, pulsing a deuterium ion source to produce a deuterium ion beam, accelerating the deuterium ion beam to the deuterated or tritiated target to produce a neutron beam, and directing the ion beam onto the deuterated or tritiated target to make neutrons using a voltage of the pyroelectric crystal and/or an HGI surrounding the pyroelectric crystal. The directionality of the neutron beam is controlled by changing the accelerating voltage of the system. Other apparatuses and methods are presented as well.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Dense plasma focus (DPF) accelerated non radio isotopic radiological source

A non-radio-isotopic radiological source using a dense plasma focus (DPF) to produce an intense z-pinch plasma from a gas, such as helium, and which accelerates charged particles, such as generated from the gas or injected from an external source, into a target positioned along an acceleration axis and of a type known to emit ionizing radiation when impinged by the type of accelerated charged particles. In a preferred embodiment, helium gas is used to produce a DPF-accelerated He2+ ion beam to a beryllium target, to produce neutron emission having a similar energy spectrum as a radio-isotopic AmBe neutron source. Furthermore, multiple DPFs may be stacked to provide staged acceleration of charged particles for enhancing energy, tunability, and control of the source.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

System for uncollimated digital radiography

The inversion algorithm based on the maximum entropy method (MEM) removes unwanted effects in high energy imaging resulting from an uncollimated source interacting with a finitely thick scintillator. The algorithm takes as input the image from the thick scintillator (TS) and the radiography setup geometry. The algorithm then outputs a restored image which appears as if taken with an infinitesimally thin scintillator (ITS). Inversion is accomplished by numerically generating a probabilistic model relating the ITS image to the TS image and then inverting this model on the TS image through MEM. This reconstruction technique can reduce the exposure time or the required source intensity without undesirable object blurring on the image by allowing the use of both thicker scintillators with higher efficiencies and closer source-to-detector distances to maximize incident radiation flux. The technique is applicable in radiographic applications including fast neutron, high-energy gamma and x-ray radiography using thick scintillators.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2014

Integrated inertial fusion energy chamber dynamics and response

Here, this paper presents results of three-dimensional hydrodynamics simulations of the flow inside a model inertial fusion energy (IFE) fusion chamber. Turbulence modeling employing the large-eddy simulation approach is used to estimate the gas dynamics, state, and mixing after a sufficiently large number of target ignitions. The rich radiation-flow physics that takes place immediately after the lasers hit the hohlraum is modeled separately using a high-fidelity one-dimensional model, which provides reference conditions for the complex geometry three-dimensional turbulence simulations. The IFE geometry includes optical ports and recirculation openings as well as a duct to evacuate the debris produced after each energy deposition (as a model of a laser shot). Furthermore, a selected set of sensitivity studies are conducted to estimate the effect of uncertainty in radiative properties of the Xenon gas at the prevalent conditions in the chamber. The results provide guidance regarding the turbulence conditions in the chamber, which seem to have entered a decay state immediately before a new shot takes place. Computational estimates of the density variability within the chamber as well as pressure history at the approximate location of the laser optical ports is presented among other turbulence statistics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2014

Two-phase mixed media dielectric with macro dielectric beads for enhancing resistivity and breakdown strength

A two-phase mixed media insulator having a dielectric fluid filling the interstices between macro-sized dielectric beads packed into a confined volume, so that the packed dielectric beads inhibit electro-hydrodynamically driven current flows of the dielectric liquid and thereby increase the resistivity and breakdown strength of the two-phase insulator over the dielectric liquid alone. In addition, an electrical apparatus incorporates the two-phase mixed media insulator to insulate between electrical components of different electrical potentials. And a method of electrically insulating between electrical components of different electrical potentials fills a confined volume between the electrical components with the two-phase dielectric composite, so that the macro dielectric beads are packed in the confined volume and interstices formed between the macro dielectric beads are filled with the dielectric liquid.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2012

FY2011 Engineering Innovations, Research, and Technology Report

This report summarizes key research, development, and technology advancements in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Engineering Directorate for FY2011. These efforts exemplify Engineering’s nearly 60-year history of developing and applying the technology innovations needed for the Laboratory’s national security missions, and embody Engineering’s mission to “Enable program success today and ensure the Laboratory’s vitality tomorrow.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2011

Arc Initiation of High Explosives (Final Report)

Arc initiaition of high explosives (HE) can occur when electrical breakdown takes place at an interface or through the bulk of the HE. It can occur in accidental scenarios involving electrostatic discharge (ESD), natural scenarios such as lightning, and engineered scenarios such as spark detonators. The unique combination of short time scale, extremely high temperature, and relatively low pressure results in an initiation regime for which there was no first-principles understanding. The continuing need to understand and improve the safety of HE initiation systems in industrial, conventional munitions, and nuclear explosives environments drives us to acquire such first-principles understanding.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗