DOE OSTI2011
A summary of data and results from the first neutron images produced by the National Ignition Facility (NIF), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA are presented. An overview of the neutron imaging technique is presented, as well as a synopsis of the data collected and measurements made to date. Data form directly driven, DT filled microballoons, as well as, indirectly driven, cryogenically layered ignition experiments are presented. The data presented show that the primary cores from directly driven implosions are approximately twice as large, 64 +/- 3 um, as indirect cores (25 +/- 4 and 29 +/- 4 um and more asymmetric, P2/P0 = 47% vs. -14% and -7%. Further, comparison with the size and shape of X-ray image data from on the same implosions show good agreement, indicating X-ray emission is dominated by the hot regions of the implosion. This work was performed for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration and by the National Ignition Campaign partners; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), University of Rochester -Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), General Atomics(GA), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL). Other contributors include Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), England, and Commissariat `a l’ ´ Energie Atomique (CEA), France.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗