Low Convergence Ratio Research Articles

Energy gain of wetted-foam implosions with auxiliary heating for inertial fusion studies

Low convergence ratio implosions (where wetted-foam layers are used to limit capsule convergence, achieving improved robustness to instability growth) and auxiliary heating (where electron beams are used to provide collisionless heating of a hotspot) are two promising techniques that are being explored for inertial fusion energy applications. In this paper, a new analytic study is presented to understand and predict the performance of these implosions. Firstly, conventional gain models are adapted to produce gain curves for fixed convergence ratios, which are shown to well-describe previously simulated results. Secondly, auxiliary heating is demonstrated to be well understood and interpreted through the burn-up fraction of the deuterium-tritium fuel, with the gradient of burn-up with respect to burn-averaged temperature shown to provide good qualitative predictions of the effectiveness of this technique for a given implosion. Simulations of auxiliary heating for a range of implosions are presented in support of this and demonstrate that this heating can have significant benefit for high gain implosions, being most effective when the burn-averaged temperature is between 5 and 20 keV.

Demonstration of neutron-yield enhancement by laser preheating and magnetization of laser-driven cylindrical implosions

Magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) is a fusion concept that uses magnetized, preheated fuel to reduce the implosion velocities and convergence ratios required for ignition. A scaled, laser-driven experimental platform to study MagLIF has been demonstrated on the OMEGA laser system, providing comprehensive experimental data on MagLIF scaling, utilizing the higher shot rate on OMEGA compared to the Z machine. Using this platform, a broader experimental space for MagLIF has been studied. Presented in this article are experimental results that demonstrate that the combination of preheat and magnetization enhances the neutron yield by 470% compared to a reference implosion, significantly more than the yield enhancement by the field or preheat alone. These results are achieved while maintaining a relatively low convergence ratio (<20). The experiments were supported by one-, two-, and three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations, all of which suggest that multiple sources of mix play different key roles depending on the scale of the MagLIF experiment.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Double Shell Program Target Development

The Double Shell Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory is studying an alternative platform for achieving robust alpha-particle heating at the National Ignition Facility. Double shells benefit from having a low convergence ratio and lower predicted temperature for achieving volume ignition. The joint required to assemble a double shell has an imperfection in the outer shell that seeds instabilities that can greatly impact the inner capsule’s implosion at bang time. Different variations of the shape and placement of the joint were implemented with improvements in the quality of the machining leading to measurable improvements in yield. High-Z coatings on the outer joint mitigated the impact of the 1- to 2-μm gap sometimes found in double shell assemblies.

Pathways towards break even for low convergence ratio direct-drive inertial confinement fusion

Following indirect-drive experiments which demonstrated promising performance for low convergence ratios (below 17), previous direct-drive simulations identified a fusion-relevant regime which is expected to be robust to hydrodynamic instability growth. This paper expands these results with simulated implosions at lower energies of 100 and 270 kJ, and ‘hydrodynamic equivalent’ capsules which demonstrate comparable convergence ratio, implosion velocity and in-flight aspect ratio without the need for cryogenic cooling, which would allow the assumptions of one-dimensional-like performance to be tested on current facilities. A range of techniques to improve performance within this regime are then investigated, including the use of two-colour and deep ultraviolet laser pulses. Finally, further simulations demonstrate that the deposition of electron energy into the hotspot of a low convergence ratio implosion through auxiliary heating also leads to significant increases in yield. Results include break even for 1.1 MJ of total energy input (including an estimated 370 kJ of short-pulse laser energy to produce electron beams for the auxiliary heating), but are found to be highly dependent upon the efficiency with which electron beams can be created and transported to the hotspot to drive the heating mechanism.

One-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of low convergence ratio direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions.

Indirect drive inertial confinement fusion experiments with convergence ratios below 17 have been previously shown to be less susceptible to Rayleigh–Taylor hydrodynamic instabilities, making this regime highly interesting for fusion science. Additional limitations imposed on the implosion velocity, in-flight aspect ratio and applied laser power aim to further reduce instability growth, resulting in a new regime where performance can be well represented by one-dimensional (1D) hydrodynamic simulations. A simulation campaign was performed using the 1D radiation-hydrodynamics code HYADES to investigate the performance that could be achieved using direct-drive implosions of liquid layer capsules, over a range of relevant energies. Results include potential gains of 0.19 on LMJ-scale systems and 0.75 on NIF-scale systems, and a reactor-level gain of 54 for an 8.5 MJ implosion. While the use of 1D simulations limits the accuracy of these results, they indicate a sufficiently high level of performance to warrant further investigations and verification of this new low-instability regime. This potentially suggests an attractive new approach to fusion energy.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 2)’.

Investigation of preheat induced degradation on material compression for double shock drive under different picket power

Material compressibility and entropy is of great significance for inertial confinement fusion research. Preheat induced degradation on material compression under double shock compression is studied on ShenGuang series laser facility. The deviations on rear surface expansion and multiple shock timing are contrasted under different picket power. The measured preheat besides shocks could provide more physical boundaries and benchmarks from experiment. 1% silicon dopants is mandatory to keep ablator/fuel interface stable with and in a double-shock compression. While pure GDP ablator is applicable to . This study demonstrates a new testbed to provide in-situ preheat evaluation for implosion experiment. It aims to validate the preheat level and effects on material compression for a double shock, low convergence ratio design. It could also provide valuable information for target dopant design and upcoming shock tuning process.

Pulsed-power-driven cylindrical aluminium liner implosions with a high aspect ratio at an 8 MA facility

First experimental investigations of foil aluminium liner implosions with a high aspect ratio of ∼ 103 at an 8 MA pulsed-power facility in China, motivated by possible application for magneto-inertial fusion, will be reported. Key diagnostics including UV cameras, micro-magnetic probes and x-ray pinhole imaging systems were fielded. Quasi-monochromatic UV images and optical streak data showed localized plasma formation at breakdown positions, suggesting that vacuum gaps in contact play a crucial role in long-time and non-uniform initiation. In liner ablation, quasi-periodic striation patterns were directly observed in UV self-emission images and were found to be azimuthally correlated with Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities. An m ≠ 0 azimuthal helical mode was obtained for the unmagnetized liner, which could be attributed to the large surface roughness that may act as an inherently and randomly seeded instability. Precursor plasma formation was confirmed by the observed x-ray emission on-axis at −70 ns by the end-on x-ray framing camera. Further quantitative current measurements taken by micro magnetic probes suggested that the current division due to precursor plasma was approximately 20% of the load current at −66 ns. Side-on imaging diagnostics indicated an evident liner implosion, however with a relatively low convergence ratio of ∼ 3.2 at stagnation. For the observed emission rings with much faster velocity in end-on x-ray images, possible mechanisms were discussed.

Computational study of instability and fill tube mitigation strategies for double shell implosions

Double shell capsules are an attractive alternative scheme for achieving robust alpha-heating at the National Ignition Facility due to their low convergence ratio and low predicted temperature for achieving volume ignition. Nevertheless, simulations suggest that double shell targets are more susceptible to the fill tube, used to fill the inner shell with liquid DT, than typical single-shell ignition capsule designs, due to the higher density gradient between the shell and the fill tube hole, a lower outer shell velocity, which prevents the implosion from catching up to the initial fill tube jet, and the absence of a rebounding shock through the foam to slow this jet. Double shells are also highly susceptible to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at both interfaces with the high density inner shell. Combined, these effects are predicted by radiation-hydrodynamics simulations to reduce fuel confinement and temperature, resulting in reduced performance by a factor of ≈20–45, depending on design details, compared to idealized one-dimensional (1D) simulations. We discuss a mitigation strategy for both the interfacial instabilities and the fill tube that is predicted by simulations to decrease the yield degradation to a factor of ≈4. The mitigation strategy involves a modification of the capsule geometry as well as the use of a multishock pulse shape. The multishock pulse is required for the fill tube mitigation strategy and has the added benefit of stabilizing perturbations at the foam/pusher interface without decreasing 1D yield. In order to experimentally verify these predictions, we discuss the potential use of a hydrogrowth radiography platform that could be applied to test the proposed mitigation strategies.

Image segmentation using fuzzy competitive learning based counter propagation network

Image segmentation is the method of partitioning an image into some homogenous regions that are more meaningful for its better understanding and examination. Soft computing methods having the capabilities of achieving artificial intelligence are predominately used to perform the task of segmentation. Due to the variability and the uncertainty present in natural scenes, segmentation is a complicated task to perform with the help of conventional image segmentation techniques. Therefore, in this article a hybrid Fuzzy Competitive Learning based Counter Propagation Network (FCPN) is proposed for the segmentation of natural scene images. This method compromises of the uncertainty handling capabilities of the fuzzy system and proficiency of parallel learning ability of neural network. To identify the number of clusters automatically in less computational time, the instar layer of Counter propagation network (CPN) has been trained by using Fuzzy competitive learning (FCL). The outstar layer of counter propagation network is trained by using Grossberg learning for obtaining the desired output. Region growing method having the tendency to correctly identify edges with simplicity is used for initial seed point selection. Then, the most similar regions in the image are clustered and the number of clusters is estimated automatically. Finally, by identifying the cluster centers the images are segmented. Bacterial foraging algorithm is used to initialize the initial weights to the network, which helps the proposed method in achieving low convergence ratio with higher accuracy. Results validated the higher performance of proposed FCPN method when compared with other states-of-the-art methods. For future work, some other adaptive methods like the fuzzy model-based network can be used to identify multiple object regions and classifying them among separate clusters.

Stability Analysis of Rock Structure in Large Slopes and Open-Pit Mine: Numerical and Experimental Fault Modeling

Deep open-pit mines and large rock slopes expose many diverse rock lithologies and geological structures (e.g., faults, bedding planes) that may reduce the integrity of slopes. Numerical modeling is a powerful tool for simulating these structures; however, there are few guidelines and methods for calibrating/validating and implementing faults in a numerical model. This paper presents a novel laboratory method to calibrate numerical models and highlights the challenges in simulating faults. One of the main issues in reliable modeling of faulted rock structure is the scarcity of experimental analyses in the laboratory under the controlled conditions. Moreover, a comprehensive evaluation of the effect of using the conventional fault modeling methods on the stability of rock structures is required, as well as a benchmarking between theoretical and experimental results. This research combines theory and experiment, to fill the existing gaps, using numerical simulation and laboratory measurements. Using FLAC3D software, the sensitivity and comparative analyses are carried out for the numerical simulations to investigate the stability of rock slopes on large and small scales (overall open-pit slope and bench slope), and the fault zones. The weak zone (WZ), ubiquitous-joint (UJ), and interface (IF) techniques are the widely used methods in the modeling to capture fault slip mechanisms. The factor of safety (FOS) of the slope is monitored upon variation of the design parameters, such as fault and rock mass mechanical properties, fault types, and modeling framework (e.g., mesh density, convergence ratio). In addition, parameters such as shear displacement and shear stress are investigated to deduce the failure mechanism of the studied models. Finally, laboratory tests were performed to calibrate the modeling results and approximate the agreement between theoretical and experimental results. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that choosing an adequately low convergence ratio is critical for estimating FOS. However, beyond a certain convergence ratio, below 10−7, this change is negligible (less than 5%). The results of mesh density sensitivity analysis indicate that the FOS values are insensitive to the mesh density in the WZ method (less than 5% change in FOS), the IF method shows the median sensitivity (5–12% change in FOS), and the UJ method is the most sensitive (FOS values improves by ~ 31%). Comparison between laboratory test and numerical modeling (FOSlab = 1.71, FOSWZ = 1.51, FOSIF = 1.62, and FOSUJ = 1.76) indicates a good agreement between the UJ and IF methods and the laboratory model (~ 3–5% discrepancy). It needs to be mentioned that these analyses/tests are not to favor one method over the other, but rather to emphasize the pros and cons of each within the assumptions of this study.

First integrated implosion experiments on the SG-III laser facility

We present the first integrated implosion experiments which were carried out on the SG-III Laser facility in 2015. Vacuum hohlraums and squared laser pulses were used in the experiments. The purpose of the experiments was to demonstrate the one-dimensional implosion performance at low-convergence ratios. To characterize the implosion performance, the hohlraum energetics, the implosion dynamics and the nuclear products were measured. In particular, the radiation flux was diagnosed through laser entrance hole at different angles by an array of flat response detectors, and the energy and the spectrum of the back-scattered lasers were monitored for 8 laser beams which correspond to 2 beams in each cone at the lower hemisphere. Moreover, the hotspot shape was imaged using KB microscopes of high spatial resolution simultaneously from the equator and polar views. Taking advantage of the high resolution, some detailed structures in the hotspots were noticed. For the best implosion performances, the neutron yields over 1D calculation reached 50% at the convergence-ratios of 15.

Development and modeling of a polar-direct-drive exploding pusher platform at the National Ignition Facility

High-intensity laser facilities, such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF), enable the experimental investigation of plasmas under extreme, high-energy-density conditions. Motivated by validating models for collisional heat-transfer processes in high-energy-density plasmas, we have developed an exploding pusher platform for use at the NIF in the polar-direct-drive configuration. The baseline design employs a 3 mm-diameter capsule, an 18 μm-thick CH ablator, and Ar-doped D2 gas to achieve several keV electron-ion temperature separations with relatively low convergence ratios. In an initial series of shots at the NIF—N160920–003, -005, and N160921–001—the ratio of the laser intensity at different polar angles was varied to optimize the symmetry of the implosion. Here we summarize experimental results from the shot series and present pre- and post-shot analysis. Although the polar-direct-drive configuration is inherently asymmetric, we successfully tuned a post-shot 1D model to a set of key implosion performance metrics. The post-shot model has proven effective for extrapolating capsule performance to higher incident laser drive. Overall, the simplicity of the platform and the efficacy of the post-shot 1D model make the polar-direct-drive exploding pusher platform attractive for a variety of applications beyond the originally targeted study of collisional processes in high-energy-density plasmas.

The effects of convergence ratio on the implosion behavior of DT layered inertial confinement fusion capsules

The wetted foam capsule design for inertial confinement fusion capsules, which includes a foam layer wetted with deuterium-tritium liquid, enables layered capsule implosions with a wide range of hot-spot convergence ratios (CR) on the National Ignition Facility. We present a full-scale wetted foam capsule design that demonstrates high gain in one-dimensional simulations. In these simulations, increasing the convergence ratio leads to an improved capsule yield due to higher hot-spot temperatures and increased fuel areal density. High-resolution two-dimensional simulations of this design are presented with detailed and well resolved models for the capsule fill tube, support tent, surface roughness, and predicted asymmetries in the x-ray drive. Our modeling of these asymmetries is validated by comparisons with available experimental data. In 2D simulations of the full-scale wetted foam capsule design, jetting caused by the fill tube is prevented by the expansion of the tungsten-doped shell layer due to preheat. While the impacts of surface roughness and predicted asymmetries in the x-ray drive are enhanced by convergence effects, likely underpredicted in 2D at high CR, simulations predict that the capsule is robust to these features. Nevertheless, the design is highly susceptible to the effects of the capsule support tent, which negates all of the one-dimensional benefits of increasing the convergence ratio. Indeed, when the support tent is included in simulations, the yield decreases as the convergence ratio is increased for CR > 20. Nevertheless, the results suggest that the full-scale wetted foam design has the potential to outperform ice layer capsules given currently achievable levels of asymmetries when fielded at low convergence ratios (CR < 20).

A fast BP networks with dynamic sample selection for handwritten recognition

Training time of traditional multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) using back-propagation algorithm rises seriously with the problem scale. For multi-class problems, the convergence ratio is very low for training MLPs. The huge time-consuming and low convergence ratio greatly restricts the applications of MLPs on problems with tens and thousands of samples. To deal with these disadvantages, this paper proposes a fast BP network with dynamic sample selection (BPNDSS) method which can dynamically select the samples containing more contribution to the variation of the decision boundary for training after each iteration epoch. The proposed BPNDSS can significantly increase the training speed by only selecting a small subset of the whole samples. Moreover, two kinds of modular single-hidden-layer approaches are adopted to decompose a multi-class problem into multiple binary-class sub-problems, which result in the high rate of convergence. The experiments on Letter and MNIST handwritten recognition database show the effectiveness and the efficiency of BPNDSS. Moreover, BPNDSS results in comparable classification performance to the convolutional neural networks (CNNs), support vector machine, Adaboost, C4.5, and nearest neighbour algorithms. To further demonstrate the training speed improvement of the dynamic sample selection approach on large-scale datasets, we modify CNN to propose a dynamic sample selection CNN (DynCNN). Experiments on Image-Net dataset illustrate that DynCNN can result in similar performance to CNN, but consume less training time.

Wetted foam liquid fuel ICF target experiments

We are developing a new NIF experimental platform that employs wetted foam liquid fuel layer ICF capsules. We will use the liquid fuel layer capsules in a NIF sub-scale experimental campaign to explore the relationship between hot spot convergence ratio (CR) and the predictability of hot spot formation. DT liquid layer ICF capsules allow for flexibility in hot spot CR via the adjustment of the initial cryogenic capsule temperature and, hence, DT vapor density. Our hypothesis is that the predictive capability of hot spot formation is robust and 1D-like for a relatively low CR hot spot (CR∼15), but will become less reliable as hot spot CR is increased to CR>20. Simulations indicate that backing off on hot spot CR is an excellent way to reduce capsule instability growth and to improve robustness to low-mode x-ray flux asymmetries. In the initial experiments, we will test our hypothesis by measuring hot spot size, neutron yield, ion temperature, and burn width to infer hot spot pressure and compare to predictions for implosions with hot spot CR's in the range of 12 to 25. Larger scale experiments are also being designed, and we will advance from sub-scale to full-scale NIF experiments to determine if 1D-like behavior at low CR is retained as the scale-size is increased. The long-term objective is to develop a liquid fuel layer ICF capsule platform with robust thermonuclear burn, modest CR, and significant α-heating with burn propagation.

The ignition design space of magnetized target fusion

The simple magnetized target implosion model of Lindemuth and Kirkpatrick [Nucl. Fusion 23, 263 (1983)] has been extended to survey the potential parameter space in which three types of magnetized targets—cylindrical with axial magnetic field, cylindrical with azimuthal magnetic field, and spherical with azimuthal magnetic field—might achieve ignition and produce large gain at achievable radial convergence ratios. The model has been used to compute the dynamic, time-dependent behavior of many initial parameter sets that have been based upon projected ignition conditions using the quasi-adiabatic and quasi-flux-conserving properties of magnetized target implosions. The time-dependent calculations have shown that energy gains greater than 30 can potentially be achieved for each type of target. By example, it is shown that high gain may be obtained at extremely low convergence ratios, e.g., less than 15, for appropriate initial conditions. It is also shown that reaching the ignition condition, i.e., when fusion deposition rates equal total loss rates, does not necessarily lead to high gain and high fuel burn-up. At the lower densities whereby fusion temperatures can be reached in magnetized targets, the fusion burn rate may be only comparable with the hydrodynamic heating/cooling rates. On the other hand, when the fusion burn rates significantly exceed the hydrodynamic rates, the calculations show a characteristic rapid increase in temperature due to alpha particle deposition with a subsequent increased burn rate and high gain. A major result of this paper is that each type of target operates in a different initial density-energy-velocity range. The results of this paper provide initial target plasma parameters and driver parameters that can be used to guide plasma formation and driver development for magnetized targets. The results indicate that plasmas for spherical, cylindrical with azimuthal field, and cylindrical with axial field targets must have an initial density greater than approximately 1017/cm3, 1018/cm3, and 1020/cm3, respectively, implying constraints on target plasma formation research.

Turbulent mixing driven by spherical implosions. Part 1. Flow description and mixing-layer growth

AbstractWe present large-eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent mixing at a perturbed, spherical interface separating two fluids of differing densities and subsequently impacted by a spherically imploding shock wave. This paper focuses on the differences between two fundamental configurations, keeping fixed the initial shock Mach number ${\approx }1.2$, the density ratio (precisely $|A_0|\approx 0.67$) and the perturbation shape (dominant spherical wavenumber $\ell _0=40$ and amplitude-to-initial radius of $3\, \%$): the incident shock travels from the lighter fluid to the heavy fluid or, inversely, from the heavy to the light fluid. After describing the computational problem we present results on the radially symmetric flow, the mean flow, and the growth of the mixing layer. Turbulent statistics are developed in Part 2 (Lombardini, M., Pullin, D. I. & Meiron, D. I. J. Fluid Mech., vol. 748, 2014, pp. 113–142). A wave-diagram analysis of the radially symmetric flow highlights that the light–heavy mixing layer is processed by consecutive reshocks, and not by reverberating rarefaction waves as is usually observed in planar geometry. Less surprisingly, reshocks process the heavy–light mixing layer as in the planar case. In both configurations, the incident imploding shock and the reshocks induce Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) instabilities at the density layer. However, we observe differences in the mixing-layer growth because the RM instability occurrences, Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) unstable scenarios (due to the radially accelerated motion of the layer) and phase inversion events are different. A small-amplitude stability analysis along the lines of Bell (Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Report, LA-1321, 1951) and Plesset (J. Appl. Phys., vol. 25, 1954, pp. 96–98) helps quantify the effects of the mean flow on the mixing-layer growth by decoupling the effects of RT/RM instabilities from Bell–Plesset effects associated with geometric convergence and compressibility for arbitrary convergence ratios. The analysis indicates that baroclinic instabilities are the dominant effect, considering the low convergence ratio (${\approx } 2$) and rather high ($\ell >10$) mode numbers considered.

STD-Dependent and Independent Encoding of Input Irregularity as Spike Rate in a Computational Model of a Cerebellar Nucleus Neuron

Neurons in the cerebellar nuclei (CN) receive inhibitory inputs from Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex and provide the major output from the cerebellum, but their computational function is not well understood. It has recently been shown that the spike activity of Purkinje cells is more regular than previously assumed and that this regularity can affect motor behaviour. We use a conductance-based model of a CN neuron to study the effect of the regularity of Purkinje cell spiking on CN neuron activity. We find that increasing the irregularity of Purkinje cell activity accelerates the CN neuron spike rate and that the mechanism of this recoding of input irregularity as output spike rate depends on the number of Purkinje cells converging onto a CN neuron. For high convergence ratios, the irregularity induced spike rate acceleration depends on short-term depression (STD) at the Purkinje cell synapses. At low convergence ratios, or for synchronised Purkinje cell input, the firing rate increase is independent of STD. The transformation of input irregularity into output spike rate occurs in response to artificial input spike trains as well as to spike trains recorded from Purkinje cells in tottering mice, which show highly irregular spiking patterns. Our results suggest that STD may contribute to the accelerated CN spike rate in tottering mice and they raise the possibility that the deficits in motor control in these mutants partly result as a pathological consequence of this natural form of plasticity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12311-011-0295-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Design of implosion capsules with low convergence ratio driven by radiation on Shenguang Ⅱ and Shenguang Ⅲ prototype laser facilities

The design method for implosion capsules with low convergence ratio driven by radiation was dweloped. These kinds of the capsules used for the experiment on Shenguang II (SG-II) and Shenguang III prototype (SG-III-P) laser facilities were simulated using Multi-1d code. The implosion targets were designed, and the variations of convergence ratio, neutron yield and area density vs fuel pressure were obtained from the simulation. Two kinds of implosion targets with low convergence ratio on SG-II which were filled with DD and DT fuels respectively and a kind of the target on SG-III-P filled with DD were designed. The neutron yield calculated by Multi-1d with low convergence ratio agreed with the experimental data on Shenguang II laser facility. It showed that Multi-1d is reliable for use with these experiments.

CFD Analysis of a Low Friction Pocketed Pad Bearing

A CFD method has been applied to model lubricant flow behavior within linear pad bearings having large, closed pockets or recesses. The study shows that the presence of closed pockets can result in a significant reduction in bearing friction coefficient and that there are two different origins for this, depending on the bearing convergence ratio. At high convergence ratios, as used in conventional thrust bearings, a pocket located in the high-pressure region of the bearing produces a reduction in local shear stress and thus friction. This friction reduction is larger than the reduction in load support resulting from the presence of the pocket so there is a net overall reduction in friction coefficient. In low convergence ratio bearings, each pocket also acts as an effectively-independent step bearing and thereby generates a higher local pressure than would otherwise be the case. This results in the overall bearing having enhanced load support and thus a reduced friction coefficient. This effect is particularly large at very low convergence ratios when cavitation occurs in the pocket inlet.