The Physics of Long-Pulse Wire Array Z-Pinch Implosions

Details The Physics of Long-Pulse Wire Array Z-Pinch Implosions The Physics of Long-Pulse Wire Array Z-Pinch Implosions

Nov 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999aps..dpp.bi102d&link_type=abstract

American Physical Society, 41st Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics, November 15-19, 1999 Seattle, WA, abstract #BI

Physics

Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

Recent improvements in Z-pinch wire-array load design at Sandia National Laboratories have led to a substantial increase in pinch performance as measured by radiative powers of up to 280 TW in 4 ns and 1.8 MJ of total radiated energy (C. Deeney, et al, Phys. Rev. Lett., 81, 4883 (1998).). Next generation, higher current machines will allow larger mass arrays and comparable or higher velocity implosions to be reached, possibly extending these results. As the current is pushed above 20 MA, conventional machine design based on a 100-ns implosion time results in higher voltages, hence higher cost and power-flow risk. Another approach, which shifts the risk to the load configuration, is to increase the implosion time to minimize the voltage. This approach is being investigated in a series of experimental campaigns on the Saturn and Z machines along with two-dimensional MHD modeling. In the first series, the scaling (performance) of tungsten wire arrays out to 150 to 250 ns implosion times was considered. For the Saturn experiments, 25-mm-diameter arrays of 240 tungsten wires of increasing mass were used, while the Z experiments were carried out at 40 mm diameter, with 480-wire arrays of increasing mass. The Saturn data exhibited powers, risetimes, final pinch diameters, and instability mode structure similar to the short pulse data (C. Deeney, et al, Phys. Plasmas, 6 (August 1999).). The Z data, on the other hand, exhibited broader pulses, lower powers and larger pinch diameters compared to the corresponding short pulse data. By employing a nested array configuration, the pinch diameter was reduced by 50% with a corresponding increase in power of > 30%. Based on numerical simulation and heuristic modeling, two different mechanisms are dominating the long pulse physics: wire merger on Saturn and load velocity on Z. The experimental results will be presented, along with a detailed comparison to numerical simulation.

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