Development of a mobile and repetitive plasma focus

Abstract

A plasma focus device aimed at working in environmental conditions not tailored for nuclear equipment has been developed by ENEA. It can operate in deuterium at 1 Hz shot rate, with an average neutron production of 3 × 10 8 neutrons/shot at 6 kJ of capacitor energy. It is easy to transport and conceived for those industrial purposes where a rather intense neutron generator is required but the use of tritium is forbidden. The machine is designed to be reliable and uniform in emission and to be operated in the field by personnel who are not specialists, to meet the requirements of the possible transformation into a commercial product.

High-Voltage Pulsed-Power Supply Operating at Repetitive Discharge Mode for Driving Very Small Plasma Focus Devices

“…However, preliminary core losses can be predicted using a factor found from the transformer core material data sheet, i.e., core loss per volume (11) where P vf is the core loss factor. Core loss factor at a temperature of 25°C and a minimum switching frequency of 30 kHz is 144 mW/cm 3 .…”

“…There are also many significant attempts that have invested in PFDs with a bank energy in the order of a few kilojoules to achieve repetitive operation mode, creating a high time-averaged neutron or X-ray yields. The NX1 PFD (2.2 kJ, 12 kV) and the NX2 PFD (1.9 kJ, 11.5 kV), a small chamber Mather-type PFD (4.7 kJ, 30 kV), and a mobile and repetitive PFD (6 kJ, 21 kV) are operating at a repetitive frequency mode on 3 and 16 Hz [9], 0.2 Hz [10], and 1 Hz [11], respectively.…”

Review of Dense Plasma Focus Technology for Intense and Directional Neutron Sources

“…Recent work in Italy [28] has already demonstrated a semi-mobile deuterium 6 kJ plasma focus operating at 3 x 10 8 n/s using a repetition rate of 1 Hz, giving a peak neutron output exceeding~10 15 n/s. Hundreds of successful shots per day were performed to test the reliability and repeatability of this device.…”

Results of Ultracompact Plasma Focus Operating in Repetitive Burst-Mode

“…It was further tried to achieve a 50-Hz repetition rate from the similar capacitor bank of 75 J in the plasma focus system without filling it with the deuterium gas, i.e., in vacuum [2]. Repetitive operation of plasma focus at 3 and 16 Hz [3], 0.2 Hz [4], [5], 1 Hz [6], 60 Hz (X-ray) [7], and 10 Hz [8], [9] has been done in the past. In order to increase the neutron yield in the plasma focus, attempts are made to attain higher currents as scaling laws suggest the increase in neutron yields at the Manuscript higher currents [10].…”