Abstract
Pulsed power technology, whereas the electrical energy stored in a relative long period is released in much shorter timescale, is an efficient method to create high energy density physics (HEDP) conditions in laboratory. Around the beginning of this century, China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP) began to build some experimental facilities for HEDP investigations, among which the Primary Test Stand (PTS), a multi-module pulsed power facility with a nominal current of 10 MA and a current rising time ∼90 ns, is an important achievement on the roadmap of the electro-magnetically driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) researches. PTS is the first pulsed power facility beyond 10 TW in China. Therefore, all the technologies have to be demonstrated, and all the engineering issues have to be overcome. In this article, the research outline, key technologies and the preliminary HEDP experiments are reviewed. Prospects on HEDP research on PTS and pulsed power development for the next step are also discussed.
Highlights
High energy density physics (HEDP) is a fast developing frontier of modern physics
HEDP research may help scientists find the limit of already proposed physical theories and provide possible access to new science
The magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) system of Primary Test Stand (PTS) consists of four outer MITLs, a double post-hole convolute (DPHC) and a single inner MITL
Summary
High energy density physics (HEDP) is a fast developing frontier of modern physics. In the 1970s, scientists' prediction that fast Z pinches would be more stable to magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instabilities led to the growth in Z-pinch research for X-ray sources This started the beginning of modern TW-class pulsed power technology in the 1980s, when the first multi-module electrical drivers for Z-pinches were established, such as Blackjack 5, Double Eagle, Saturn and Angara-5-1. The currents of these pulsed power drivers are a few mega-amperes and the rising time is about 100 ns.
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