Abstract
Spectroscopic measurements of plasma density, temperature, and plasma closure velocities are preparing the path to scaled-up pulsed power drivers for future research.
Highlights
High energy density physics experiments conducted on Sandia’s Z machine [1,2] range from dynamic material property measurements [3,4] to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments [5,6,7] to laboratory astrophysics [8,9]
This paper describes a series of experimental measurements of current flow through, and plasma formation in, the Z machine double post-hole convolute for a variety of experimental load types
A measurable difference is observed between current at the vacuum insulator stack and current at the inner-magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITL) on most Z machine experiments
Summary
High energy density physics experiments conducted on Sandia’s Z machine [1,2] range from dynamic material property measurements [3,4] to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments [5,6,7] to laboratory astrophysics [8,9]. Simulations of a simplified convolute geometry have been conducted to understand the impact of varying a number of parameters including post radius, number of posts, and anode-cathode gap spacing [27,28] These simulations used a fixed, relatively high-impedance load to accentuate the loss mechanisms by increasing the voltage in the MITL-convolute system. Losses in the Z convolute prior to the refurbishment project for low-impedance z-pinch loads were as high as 1.5 MA out of 18.5 MA [22], but after refurbishment, the stored energy of Z doubled, and the convolute losses increased to 3 MA out of 23 MA for similar low-impedance loads [25] This is significant because designs for new, highercurrent (50 þ MA) generators such as Baikal [30,31,32] and Z- [33,34] roughly quadruple the electrical power of Z, and their designs include a triple post-hole convolute to add current from six MITL levels into a single final power feed.
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