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Generation of runaway electrons in the axial region of a Z-pinch (high-current vacuum spark) operating in a high-Z medium was observed experimentally using pulsed optical shadowgraphy and X-ray pinhole imaging.
Generation of neutrons from Z-pinch discharges in a deuterated gas medium has been studied. It is shown that a power-law energy dependence of the number of high-energy deuterons in Z-pinch plasma explains the observed broadening of the neutron spectrum in these systems. It is established that, at an average ion energy below 3 keV in Z-pinch plasma, neutrons are mostly generated due to the interaction of high-energy ({approx}100-keV) deuterons with the main plasma components.
A new compact Z-pinch x-ray hohlraum design with parallel-driven x-ray sources was experimentally demonstrated in a full configuration with a central target and tailored shine shields (to provide a symmetric temperature distribution on the target) at the 1.7 MA Zebra generator. This presentation reports on the joint success of two independent lines of research. One of these was the development of new sources – planar wire arrays (PWAs). PWAs turned out to be a prolific radiator. Another success was the drastic improvement in energy efficiency of pulsed-power systems, such as the Load Current Multiplier (LCM). The Zebra/LCM generator almost doubled the plasma load current to 1.7 MA. The two above-mentioned innovative approaches were used in combination to produce a new compact hohlraum design for ICF, as jointly proposed by SNL and UNR. Good agreement between simulated and measured radiation temperature of the central target is shown. Experimental comparison of PWAs with planar foil liners (PFL) - another viable alternative to wire array loads at multi-MA generators show promising data. Results of research at the University of Nevada Reno allowed for the study of hohlraum coupling physics at University-scale generators. The advantages of new hohlraum design applications for multi-MA facilities with W or Au double PWAs or PFL x-ray sources are discussed.
No abstract prepared.
Localized, intensely radiating regions are often observed in Z pinches. High resolution images of such areas have been recorded at least as far back as the 1970s. However, there is as yet no widely accepted consensus on the nature of these 'bright spots' or how they are formed. This phenomenon has also been referred to 'hot spots' or 'micropinches.' To shed further light on this issue, we have analyzed axially resolved K-shell spectra from 4 Z pinches driven by the refurbished Z generator ('ZR') at Sandia National Laboratories, and the previous version of the Z machine ('Z'). The atomic numbers of the loads varied from 13 to 29. We find that higher spatial K-shell intensity in the Al pinch correlates with density. The K-shell intensity within a copper shot taken on ZR correlates strongly with increased electron temperature, but another, somewhat less well-diagnosed copper shot from Z shows correlation with density. The bright spots in a Ti pinch correlate with neither density nor temperature, but do correlate with the product of density and diameter (proportional to opacity). This opacity correlation is also observed in the other 3 pinches.
The experimental results of the insulated-standard hybrid wire array Z pinches carried out on “QiangGuang-I” facility at Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology were presented and discussed. The surface insulating can impose a significant influence on the dynamics and radiation characteristics of the hybrid wire array Z pinches, especially on the early stage (t/t{sub imp} < 0.6). The expansion of insulated wires at the ablation stage is suppressed, while the streams stripped from the insulated wires move faster than that from the standard wires. The foot radiation of X-ray is enhanced by increment of the number of insulated wires, 19.6 GW, 33.6 GW, and 68.6 GW for shots 14037S, 14028H, and 14039I, respectively. The surface insulation also introduces nonhomogeneity along the single wire—the streams move much faster near the electrodes. The colliding boundary of the hybrid wire array Z pinches is bias to the insulated side approximately 0.6 mm.
The emission spectra of hydrogen-like nitrogen Balmer at the wavelength of 13.4 nm in capillary Z-pinch discharge plasma are experimentally examined. Ionization to fully strip nitrogen at the pinch maximum, and subsequent rapid expansion cooling are required to establish the population inversion between the principal quantum number of n = 2 and n = 3. The ionization and recombination processes with estimated plasma parameters are evaluated by utilizing a time integrated spectrum pinhole image containing radial spatial information. A cylindrical capillary plasma is pinched by a triangular pulsed current with peak amplitude of 50 kA and pulse width of 50 ns.
X pinches are well known to produce very small, dense plasma pinches (“hot spots”) that emit short bursts of 1.5–8 keV radiation. Hard X-ray radiation in the 8–100 keV range is also emitted, only a small portion of which is associated with the X-pinch hot spot. In hybrid X-pinches, the “long” X-ray pulse is terminated by fast closure of the gap between the two conical electrodes by rapidly expanding electrode plasmas. The temporal, spectral, and spatial properties of this higher energy radiation, 10 – 60 keV, have been studied. This radiation was used for point-projection imaging with magnification between 1.5 and 3, and spatial resolution less than100 micrometers was demonstrated.
Dynamic return currents and electromagnetic field structure in laser-generated Z-pinch plasmas have been measured using proton deflectometry. Experiments were modeled to accurately interpret deflections observed in proton radiographs. Current flow is shown to begin on axis and migrate outwards with the expanding coronal plasma. Magnetic field strengths of {approx}1 T are generated by currents that increase from {approx}2 kA to {approx}7 kA over the course of the laser pulse. Proton deflectometry has been demonstrated to be a practical alternative to other magnetic field diagnostics for these types of plasmas.
Relatively long-lived spheroidal structures coincident with the neutron emission phase have been observed in frozen deuterium fiber Z-pinch and some plasma focus devices. Existence of energetic ion-trapping mechanism in plasma focus has also been inferred from experimental data. It has been conjectured that these are related phenomena. This paper applies Turner's theory [L. Turner, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 14, 849 (1986)] of relaxation of a Hall magnetofluid to construct a model of these structures and ion-trapping mechanism. Turner's solution modified for a finite-length plasma is used to obtain expressions for the magnetic field, velocity, and equilibrium pressure fields and is shown to represent an entity which is simultaneously a fluid vortex, a force-free magnetic field, a confined finite-pressure plasma, a charged object, and a trapped energetic ion beam. Characteristic features expected from diagnostic experiments are evaluated and shown to resemble experimental observations.
In order to investigate the plasma expansion behaviors and the electrical recovery process after the maximum implosion in our tin fueled laser-assisted discharge plasma (LDP) 13.5 nm EUV source, we developed and evaluated a cost-efficient spectroscopic method to determine the electron temperature T{sub e} and density n{sub e} simultaneously, by using Stark broadenings of two Sn II isolated lines (5s{sup 2}4f{sup 2}F{sup o}{sub 5/2} - 5s{sup 2}5d{sup 2}D{sub 3/2} 558.9 nm and 5s{sup 2}6d{sup 2}D{sub 5/2} - 5s{sup 2}6p{sup 2}P{sup o}{sub 3/2} 556.2 nm) spontaneously emitted from the plasma. The spatial-resolved evolutions of T{sub e} and n{sub e} of the expansion plasma over 50 to 900 ns after the maximum implosion were obtained using this modified Stark broadening method. According to the different n{sub e} decay characteristics along the Z-pinch axis, the expansion velocity of the electrons was estimated as {approx}1.2 x 10{sup 4} ms{sup -1} from the plasma shell between the electrodes towards the cathode and the anode. The decay time constant of n{sub e} was measured as 183 {+-} 24 ns. Based on the theories of plasma adiabatic expansion and electron-impact ionization, the minimum time-span that electrical recovery between the electrodes needs in order to guarantee the next succeeding regular EUV-emitting discharge was estimated to be 70.5 {mu}s. Therefore, the maximum repetition rate of our LDP EUV source is {approx}14 kHz, which enables the output to reach 125 W/(2{pi}sr).
Fully kinetic, collisional, and electromagnetic simulations of the time evolution of an imploding and burning Z pinch plasma have been performed. Using the implicit particle-in-cell (PIC) code, multidimensional (1D and 3D) simulations of deuterium and deuterium-tritium Z pinches provide insight into the mechanisms of neutron production. The PIC code allows non-Maxwellian particle distributions, simulates finite mean-free-path effects, performs self-consistent calculations of anomalous resistivity, and permits charge separation. At low pinch current, neutron production is dominated by high energy ions driven by instabilities. The instabilities produce a power-law ion-energy distribution function in the distribution tail. At higher currents with deuterium-tritium fuel, the vast majority of the neutrons is thermonuclear in origin and neutron yield follows an I{sup 4} neutron yield scaling with current. High-current, multidimension simulations (up to 40 MA with > 10{sup 16} neutron yield) suggest that the fraction of thermonuclear neutrons increases with current and the strong dependence of neutron yield with current will continue at still higher currents. Scenarios for fusion breakeven and possible ignition in the 40-80 MA regime are discussed.
The double planar wire array (DPWA) Z pinch is a highly efficient radiation source with unique implosion dynamics and precursor formations. The inductively divided current successively ablates the wires and injects the material to the interior of the array. Three uniquely imploding DPWA load types were identified and classified according to the critical load parameter: low, intermediate, or high aspect ratio. Radiation pulse shaping was obtained from secondary precursors: off-axis mass carrying high current densities during the implosion phase. Time-gated EUV spectroscopy of off-axis mass accumulations is used to assess a 60 eV electron temperature prior to the implosion phase. These structures are shown to form by a different mechanism than the secondary precursors. High yields, compact size, and shaped radiation pulses merit further consideration of the DPWA as a candidate for inertial confinement fusion research.
A recent publication [D. B. Sinars et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 185001 (2010)] describes the first controlled experiments measuring the growth of the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability in fast ({approx}100 ns) Z-pinch plasmas formed from initially solid aluminum tubes (liners). Sinusoidal perturbations on the surface of these liners with wavelengths of 25-400 {mu}m were used to seed single-mode instabilities. The evolution of the outer liner surface was captured using multiframe 6.151 keV radiography. The initial paper shows that there is good agreement between the data and 2-D radiation magneto-hydrodynamic simulations down to 50 {mu}m wavelengths. This paper extends the previous one by providing more detailed radiography images, detailed target characterization data, a more accurate comparison to analytic models for the amplitude growth, the first data from a beryllium liner, and comparisons between the data and 3D simulations.
We report results of the experimental campaign, which studied the initiation, implosion dynamics, and radiation yield of tungsten wire arrays as a function of the wire number. The wire array dimensions and mass were those of interest for the Z-pinch driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program. An optimization study of the x-ray emitted peak power, rise time, and full width at half maximum was effectuated by varying the wire number while keeping the total array mass constant and equal to {approx}5.8 mg. The driver utilized was the {approx}20-MA Z accelerator before refurbishment in its usual short pulse mode of 100 ns. We studied single arrays of 20-mm diameter and 1-cm height. The smaller wire number studied was 30 and the largest 600. It appears that 600 is the highest achievable wire number with present day's technology. Radial and axial diagnostics were utilized including crystal monochromatic x-ray backlighter. An optimum wire number of {approx}375 was observed which was very close to the routinely utilized 300 for the ICF program in Sandia.
It is shown that the two-fluid model under a generalized Ohm's law formulation and the resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) can both be described as relaxation systems. In the relaxation model, the under-resolved stiff source terms constrain the dynamics of a set of hyperbolic equations to give the correct asymptotic solution. When applied to the collisional two-fluid model, the relaxation of fast time scales associated with displacement current and finite electron mass allows for a natural transition from a system where Ohm's law determines the current density to a system where Ohm's law determines the electric field. This result is used to derive novel algorithms, which allow for multiscale simulation of low and high frequency extended-MHD physics. This relaxation formulation offers an efficient way to implicitly advance the Hall term and naturally simulate a plasma-vacuum interface without invoking phenomenological models. The relaxation model is implemented as an extended-MHD code, which is used to analyze pulsed power loads such as wire arrays and ablating foils. Two-dimensional simulations of pulsed power loads are compared for extended-MHD and MHD. For these simulations, it is also shown that the relaxation model properly recovers the resistive-MHD limit.
We present experimental results of the formation of magnetically driven plasma jets, showing for the first time a way of producing episodic jet/ouflows in the laboratory. The jets are produced using a 6.5 {mu}m thick aluminum disk (a radial foil), which is subjected to the 1 MA, 250 ns current pulse from the MAGPIE generator [I. H. Mitchell et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 1533 (1996)]. The early time motion of the foil is characterized by the bulk motion of the mass due to the magnetic pressure, together with the formation of a surface plasma following the direction of the JxB force. A low density plasma fills the region above the foil preceding the formation of subsequent magnetically driven jets on the axis of expanding magnetic bubbles. The outflows emerge in timescales of {approx}30-40 ns and their episodic nature is the result of current reconnection in the foil, aided by the formation of current-driven instabilities in the jet and the distribution of mass available from the foil. The additional inductance due to the new current path inside the cavities was measured using an inductive probe, allowing to estimate the energy balance associated with the episodes. The measured temperature of the compressed jet resulted in T{sub e{approx}}300 eV and a magnetic Reynolds number of Re{sub M{approx}}200-1000, allowing the experiments to be in the regime relevant for scaled representations of astrophysical outflows.
A series of experiments has been conducted in order to investigate the azimuthal structures formed by the interactions of cylindrically converging plasma flows during the ablation phase of aluminium wire array Z pinch implosions. These experiments were carried out using the 1.4 MA, 240 ns MAGPIE generator at Imperial College London. The main diagnostic used in this study was a two-colour, end-on, Mach-Zehnder imaging interferometer, sensitive to the axially integrated electron density of the plasma. The data collected in these experiments reveal the strongly collisional dynamics of the aluminium ablation streams. The structure of the flows is dominated by a dense network of oblique shock fronts, formed by supersonic collisions between adjacent ablation streams. An estimate for the range of the flow Mach number (M = 6.2-9.2) has been made based on an analysis of the observed shock geometry. Combining this measurement with previously published Thomson Scattering measurements of the plasma flow velocity by Harvey-Thompson et al.[Physics of Plasmas 19, 056303 (2012)] allowed us to place limits on the range of the ZT{sub e} of the plasma. The detailed and quantitative nature of the dataset lends itself well as a source for model validation and code verification exercises, as the exact shock geometry is sensitive to many of the plasma parameters. Comparison of electron density data produced through numerical modelling with the Gorgon 3D MHD code demonstrates that the code is able to reproduce the collisional dynamics observed in aluminium arrays reasonably well.