Microballoons filled with an equimolar deuterium-tritium mixture and coated with a plastic ablator of variable thickness are imploded by the eight-beam Octal laser (X = 1.06 jum; 0.6 TW). An X-ray r diagnostic with space-time resolution is used to analyse the implosion of the targets designed to the highest /pdr. The experimental results are compared with numerical simulations performed by a one-dimensional J Lagrangian code. A DT density of about 2 gem" 3 is obtained; the transition from an exploding-pusher regime to a more ablative one is analysed on the basis of the evolution of the preheat, the hydrodynamic efficiency and the density and temperature performance.
The laser program developed at the Centre d'Etudes de Limeil-Valenton, Saint-Georges, France (CEL-V) is concentrated on a systematic investigation of indirect drive fusion; by comparison with direct drive, this process is expected to provide the required irradiation uniformity with relaxed constraints on laser beam quality. The main concerns are radiative transfer and preheat, hydrodynamic instabilities, and high-density X-ray driven implosions. Ablative implosion experiments have been conducted with the two beams at the Phebus facility (5 kJ, 1.3 ns, 0.35 jim). Symmetry was proved to be controlled by the casing structure, following scaling laws describing hohlraum physics. A compressed DT densitỹ 100 p 0 (fio liquid DT density) has been deduced from activation measurements. Different aspects of the soft X-ray transfer processes, and particularly of the ablation of a low-Z material, which drives the capsule implosion, are dealt with in detailed investigations. Reported here are results on X-ray reemission and penetration in several materials, and on induced hydrodynamics of accelerated foils. The laser energy required to reach fuel ignition conditions has been evaluated from numerical simulations as well as from analytical models, taking into account hohlraum physics, capsule implosion, hot spot formation, and burn propagation. Several crucial parameters have been drawn, the most important being the radiation temperature. A target gain in the order of 10 appears achievable with a 2-MJ laser.
A time-, position-and energy-resolved soft x-ray (100-500 eV) diagnostic is being developed for PBFA II target experiments. The diagnostic provides measurements of hydrodynamic motion and thermal gradients in light-ion fusion targets. A slit-image of the source is imprinted onto thin sheets (20l.tm) of organic scintillator to create a one-dimensional image. The scintillator light is then proximity-coupled to a linear array of fiber-optics that transports the light to a streak camera that is operated without an intensifier. The streak camera output is recorded on a charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera. We are characterizing the spatial and temporal resolutions of the systems. This is done by collecting data from as many as 90 individual fibers and correcting for variations in throughput and the effects of spatial resolution to roughly 5% standard deviation in their relative throughput. Spatial resolution of these systems at the source is approximately 0.4 mm. Timing resolution is nominally 2 ns and it is limited primarily by the scintillator response and dispersion in the 50-m-long fiber array. We describe the measurement techniques and the results of the characterization.
Z-pinches created using the Z accelerator generate -220 TW, 1.7 MJ radiation pulses that heat large (-10 cm3) hohlraums to 100-150 eV temperatures for times of order 10 nsec. We are performing experiments exploiting this intense radiation to drive shock waves for equation of state studies. The shock pressures are typically 1-10 Mbar with 10 nsec duration in 6-mm-diameter samples. In this paper we demonstrate the ability to perform optical spectroscopy measurements on shocked samples located in close proximity to the z-pinch. These experiments are particularly well suited to optical spectroscopy measurements because of the relatively large sample size and long duration. The optical emission is collected using fiber optics and recorded with a streaked spectrograph. Other diagnostics include VISAR and active shock breakout measurements of the shocked sample and a suite of diagnostics that characterize the radiation drive. Our near term goal is to use the spectral emission to obtain the temperature of the shocked material. Longer term objectives include the examination of deviations of the spectrum from blackbody, line emission from lower density regions, determination of kinetic processes in molecular systems, evaluation of phase transitions such as the onset of metalization in transparent materials, and characterization of the plasma formed when the shock exits the rear surface. An initial set of data illustrating both the potential and the challenge of these measurements is described.
-Two experiments have been performed to measure the effects of pulsed radiation loads on the front of small tubular structures, using as an energy source the X-ray fluence produced by a Z-pinch at the Sandia National Laboratories Z Facility. The project had two major goals: to establish the feasibility of using the Z machine to study the phenomenology associated with debris generation and propagation down tubular structures with partitions; and to use the resultant experimental data to validate numerical hydrocodes (shock physics codes) so that we have confidence in their use in analyzing these types of situations. Two tubular aluminum structures (5 and 10 cm long and 1 cm inside dkuneter) were prepared, with aluminum partitions located at the front, halfway down the pipe, and at the rear. Interferometry (VISARS) provided multiple velocity histories for all of the partitions. In both experiments, the first barrier, which was exposed directly to the x-ray fluence, was launched into the pipe at a velocity of -2 km/s, accelerating to give a mean velocity of-2.6 km/s. Loss of plate integrity is inferred from the dispersed launch of the second partition at -1 Ian/s. Wall shocks propagating at 4.5 kmk were inferred, although stmin gage measurements did not succeed. Post-test metallography showed evidence of melting and partial vaporization of the plates, and turbulent mixing with material from the walls. Calculations qualhatively agree with the observed results, but slightly overpredict debris velocity, possibly due to overestimates of total energy fluence. An application for this work is the study of techniques for line-of-sight shock and debris mitigation on high-power pulse-power facilities such as Z and its follow-on machines.
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