Wire Array Implosions Research Articles

Experimental study of the ion flux parameters and anode plasma dynamics in the Angara-5-1 facility

Results are presented from experimental studies of the anode plasma dynamics and measurements of the ion flux ejected along the axis of a high-current Z-pinch. Pinch discharges were formed by the implosion of tungsten wire arrays in the Angara-5-1 facility. It is shown that the ion energy spectrum depends on the mass and configuration of wire arrays, as well as on the diameter of the anode aperture. The shape of the ion spectrum indicates that the plasma propagates in the form of a compact plasmoid. Shadow and X-ray images of the plasma show that the axial velocity of the plasma outflowing through the anode aperture is comparable with the velocity of radial plasma compression and, for tungsten ions, can reach a value corresponding to an energy of 100 keV. The experimental data indicate that the ion energy spectrum mainly forms due to the electrodynamical acceleration of the plasma and cumulative jets. A possible mechanism for the production of compact plasma formations in the course of electrodynamic plasma acceleration is discussed.

A torquing shearing interferometer for cylindrical wire array experiments

In standard shearing interferometry, a single probing beam passes through a perturbing medium and is then split into two beams. A linear shift results in an overlap, an interference, and a fringe pattern yielding the perturbing medium density profile. The probing beam usually needs to be larger than the perturbing medium so that part of it passes through a well separated low density region. During early time axial (end-on) views of imploding cylindrical wire arrays low density regions lie in between the high density regions that are near the initial wire positions. In addition, for end-on viewing, the probing beam diameter is limited by electrodes and is comparable to the array diameter. In this case a linear translation will not work but the overlap can be accomplished by an azimuthal rotation of one beam with respect to the other. Such a torquing shearing interferometer has been set up on the COBRA experiment to give time resolved, radial, and azimuthal electron density profiles during early time cylindrical wire array implosions.

The wire array Z-pinch: an efficient x-ray source for ICF and a new ion heating mechanism

The Z-pinch provides an efficient x-ray source for driving a hohlraum for inertial confinement fusion. The basic physics of wire-array implosions is reviewed. It can be understood in several sequential stages. Firstly, the wires heat and form a surrounding vapour which ionizes, causing the current to transfer to this lower resistance. The J×B global force leads to ejection of this plasma towards the axis to form a precursor plasma. The wire cores continue to ablate due to the heat flux from the Joule-heated nearby plasma. The cooling of this plasma by the wire-cores leads to a low magnetic Reynolds number so that the precursor plasma carries little or no current. When gaps appear in the liquid/vapour cores the plasma temperature and Reynolds number rise and this plasma accelerates in towards the axis carrying the current. This is the main implosion, and it sweeps up earlier ablated plasma, which acts to reduce Rayleigh–Taylor growth. At stagnation, the ion kinetic energy is thermalized and equipartition heats the electrons, which then radiate in a 5 ns pulse. In some conditions the energy radiated by soft x-rays exceeds the ion kinetic energy by a factor of 3 or 4. A theory has been developed to explain this in which fine-scale, fast growing m= 0 MHD instabilities grow to saturation, viscous dissipation of which leads to ion heating, followed by equipartition. World record ion temperatures of 2–3 billion Kelvin were predicted, and measured at Sandia National Laboratory. Lastly, progress in capsule implosions and in application to inertial fusion energy is reported.

Spectroscopic features of implosions of Mo single- and double-planar wire arrays produced on the 1 MA Z-pinch generator

The spectroscopic features of implosions of Mo single- and double-planar wire arrays are studied. The experiments were performed on the 1 MA Zebra generator at UNR. Implosions of Mo planar wire arrays radiate high peak powers and produce high-temperature L-shell plasmas. In particular, plasma electron temperature of single-planar wire arrays of Mo reached ∼1375 eV. To estimate and analyze the evolution of plasma parameters in space and time, spatially resolved, time-integrated L-shell Mo X-ray spectra as well as time-gated and time-integrated pinhole images were collected and analyzed. A non-LTE kinetic model was applied to study the spatial structures, temperatures and densities of different wire loads of Mo planar wire arrays. Effects of non-Maxwellian hot electrons on L-shell radiation of Mo are discussed. Furthermore, Mo planar wire arrays generate bright spots or clusters of bright spots along the axial directions. Temperature and density gradients inside these bright spots or its clusters are also investigated. The results are compared with results of previous experiments with X-pinches on UNR Zebra and nested wire arrays at SNL-Z. Radiation magnetohydrodynamics modeling was performed to analyze the mechanisms of Z-pinch plasma heating in the presence of strong density gradients.

Magnetostatic and magnetohydrodynamic modeling of planar wire arrays

For the past 2 years the planar wire array loads have proven their ability to create powerful x-ray radiation sources at the pulsed power facilities with the current level ranging from 1to3MA. Several key features of the implosion and ablation dynamics of the planar wire arrays distinguish them from the wire arrays of the conventional cylindrical design. The uneven current partition through the array wires in planar geometry results in a significant difference between the ablation rates of the outermost and the innermost array wires. This difference is even higher in a double row planar array geometry. According to the three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations the effect of the delayed ablation of the inner array wires can result in effective mitigation of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability modes. The high number (200–300) of wires in a cylindrical array is preferable to ensure fine azimuthal symmetry of an array implosion. However this requirement is not a great concern for the planar wire array loads, which implode along the plane of wires. Hence, the low-wire-number planar array loads are naturally optimized for the Z-pinch experiments at short pulse (100ns) 1MA facilities. The application of planar wire array loads at high current accelerators is attractive for the purposes of the inertial confinement fusion because of the relative compactness of these loads and their potential for radiation pulse shaping.

Hard X-ray emission from imploding wire arrays

Results are presented from experimental studies of the generation of hard X-ray (HXR) emission with photon energies above 20 keV during the implosion of wire arrays in the Angara-5-1 facility. An analysis of X-ray images of the Z-pinch shows that the dimensions and spatial structures of the emitting regions are different for hard and soft X rays. It is found that the HXR emission peak is delayed with respect to the soft X-ray (SXR) one. The dependence of the HXR power on the material, initial diameter, and mass (implosion time) of the wire array is determined. It is shown that the HXR intensity in the spectral range >50 keV is several orders higher than the emission intensity in the high-energy tail of the SXR spectrum (assuming that this spectrum is thermal). A comparison of the time evolution and spatial localization of the HXR and SXR sources during the implosion of wire arrays indicates the presence of a new superthermal phenomenon that differs qualitatively from the processes determining the peak power of the SXR pulse. Possible mechanisms that can be responsible for the generation of HXR pulses are considered.

Lower bounds for the kinetic energy and resistance of wire array Z pinches on the Z pulsed-power accelerator

Approximate lower bounds for the kinetic energy and magnetic flux dissipation for tungsten wire arrays on the Z pulsed-power accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories [R. B. Spielman et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 2105 (1998)] are obtained. A procedure, extending previous work determining pinch inductance as a function of time [E. M. Waisman et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 2009 (2004)], is introduced and applied to electrical and x-ray energy measurements. It employs the pinch energy balance to determine lower bounds for the plasma kinetic energy just before the main pinch reaches the axis and for the magnetic flux dissipation during stagnation. From the lower bound for the dissipated flux, a lower bound for pinch resistance after x-ray peak power is estimated. The results of applying the introduced energy balance procedure to selected tungsten wire array implosions on Z are given. It is believed that this is the first time that a measure of wire array Z-pinch resistance at stagnation is obtained purely from data analysis without recourse to specific assumptions on the plasma motion.

Radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulation of plasma formed on a surface by a megagauss field

Radiation magnetohydrodynamic modeling is used to study the plasma formed on the surface of a cylindrical metallic load, driven by megagauss magnetic field at the 1MA Zebra generator (University of Nevada, Reno). An ionized aluminum plasma is used to represent the "core-corona" behavior in which a heterogeneous Z-pinch consists of a hot low-density corona surrounding a dense low-temperature core. The radiation dynamics model included simultaneously a self-consistent treatment of both the opaque and transparent plasma regions in a corona. For the parameters of this experiment, the boundary of the opaque plasma region emits the major radiation power with Planckian black-body spectrum in the extreme ultraviolet corresponding to an equilibrium temperature of 16 eV. The radiation heat transport significantly exceeds the electron and ion kinetic heat transport in the outer layers of the opaque plasma. Electromagnetic field energy is partly radiated (13%) and partly deposited into inner corona and core regions (87%). Surface temperature estimates are sensitive to the radiation effects, but the surface motion in response to pressure and magnetic forces is not. The general results of the present investigation are applicable to the liner compression experiments at multi-MA long-pulse current accelerators such as Atlas and Shiva Star. Also the radiation magnetohydrodynamic model discussed in the paper may be useful for understanding key effects of wire array implosion dynamics.

Collective ion acceleration during the decay of a high-current Z-pinch

A study is made of the Z-pinch plasma expansion after the current is switched off. Measurements were carried out in experiments on the implosion of tungsten wire arrays in the Angara-5-1 facility. It is found experimentally that, at a distance of 2 m from the pinch, the ion velocity in the expanding Z-pinch plasma is about (2.5–4.0) × 107 cm/s, which substantially exceeds the thermal velocity of tungsten ions. A model describing the plasma expansion process is proposed that is based on the ambipolar acceleration mechanism. The results of numerical simulations are compared with the experimental data.

Neutron emission generated during wire array Z-pinch implosion onto deuterated fiber

The implosion of both cylindrical and conical wire arrays onto a deuterated polyethylene fiber was studied on the S-300 pulsed power generator [A. S. Chernenko et al., Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on High Power Particle Beams (Academy of Science of Czech Republic, Prague, 1996), p. 154]. Neutron measurements were used to obtain information about acceleration of fast deuterons. An average neutron yield approached 109 on the current level of 2MA. In the case of conical wire arrays, side-on neutron energy spectra peaked at 2.48±0.05MeV with 450±100keV full width at half-maximum. In the downstream direction, the peak neutron energy and the width of a neutron spectrum were 2.65±0.10MeV and 350±100keV, respectively. The total number of fast deuterons was 1015 and their average kinetic energy was about 150keV. Most of the deuterons were directed toward the cathode. The broad width of neutron spectra in the side-on direction implied a high radial component of deuteron velocity. With regard to the emission time, neutron pulses temporally correlated with hard x rays and also with measured voltage. The neutron emission lasted on average 30±5ns and it was observed during the stagnation and at the beginning of the expansion of a plasma column. At this moment, the plasma impedance reached 0.2–0.4Ω. In the post-stagnation phase, this value was formed significantly by enhanced plasma resistance. Similar experimental results were observed also with cylindrical wire arrays imploding onto a deuterated fiber.

UV Laser Probing of Imploding Wire-Array Plasmas on the Angara-5-1 Facility

Dynamics of tungsten wire-array Z-pinch implosions driven by a current of 3 MA has been studied on the Angara-5-1 facility by using a UV laser probe developed in the Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry. The single-wire-array results including implosion trajectory, an implosion velocity of 3.7 X 107 cm/s, and a minimum pinch size of no more than 0.9 mm were obtained. The numerical analysis indicates that the measured trajectory, velocity, and minimum pinch size were of the plasma with electron density of the order of 2 times 1020 cm-3.

Influence of the current growth rate on the polarity effect in a wire array in the Angara-5-1 facility

It is shown that, at a sufficiently high current growth rate, the initial stage of implosion of a wire array is significantly affected by the radial electric fields. Due to the specific electrode configuration of wire arrays, the magnitude of the oppositely directed radial electric fields in different wire segments can reach 5 MV/cm. It is found that the process of plasma formation proceeds in different ways in segments with oppositely directed initial radial electric fields. The influence of this effect (the so-called “polarity effect”) on the implosion of cylindrical tungsten wire arrays in the Angara-5-1 facility becomes significant when the load voltage grows at a sufficiently high rate.

Dynamics of conical wire array Z-pinch implosions

A modification of the wire array Z pinch, the conical wire array, has applications to the understanding of wire array implosions and potentially to pulse shaping relevant to inertial confinement fusion. Results are presented from imploding conical wire array experiments performed on university scale 1 MA generators—the MAGPIE generator (1 MA, 240 ns) at Imperial College London [I. H. Mitchell et al., Rev. Sci Instrum. 67, 1533 (1996)] and the Nevada Terawatt Facility’s Zebra generator (1 MA, 100 ns) at the University of Nevada, Reno [B. Bauer et al., in Dense Z-Pinches, edited by N. Pereira, J. Davis, and P. Pulsifer (AIP, New York, 1997), Vol. 409, p. 153]. This paper will discuss the implosion dynamics of conical wire arrays. Data indicate that mass ablation from the wires in this complex system can be reproduced with a rocket model with fixed ablation velocity. Modulations in the ablated plasma are present, the wavelength of which is invariant to a threefold variation in magnetic field strength. The axial variation in the array leads to a zippered precursor column formation. An initial implosion of a magnetic bubble near the cathode is followed by the implosion zippering upwards. Spectroscopic data demonstrating a variation of plasma parameters (e.g., electron temperature) along the Z-pinch axis is discussed, and experimental data are compared to magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

Generation of soft X-ray emission by Z-pinches powered from helical explosive magnetocumulative generators

Results are presented from experiments on the implosion of wire arrays powered from 100-and 200-mm-diameter helical explosive magnetocumulative generators with explosive opening switches. The experiments were performed at load currents of up to 4 MA, the current rise time being 0.3–0.4 μs. The maximum soft X-ray yield of ∼ 100 kJ was achieved at a pinch plasma temperature of 55 eV. A two-dimensional MHD code was developed to simulate the process of liner implosion and the generation of X-ray emission. The results of computer simulations agree satisfactorily with the experimental data.

Radiative properties of implosions of combined X-pinches and planar wire arrays composed from different wire materials on the UNR 1 MA Z-pinch generator

The radiation from implosions of X-pinches and planar wire arrays, which consist of alloyed Al and Mo wires, on the UNR 1MA ZEBRA generator was studied. Combined, planar-loop X-pinches are good surrogate sources for studying radiative properties of Z-pinch plasmas that can be of small size, high density and high temperature as are standard X-pinches. Further, the X-pinches consist of the wires from different materials and can also exhibit distinct radiation properties. In particular, combined X-pinches studied in this work used an Al 5056 (5% Mg) wire in the anode (cathode) loop and a Mo wire in the cathode (anode) loop. Combined planar wire arrays had from 10 to 15 wires arranged in one plane and consisted of the same two wire materials as used in the X-pinches. We find that planar wire arrays radiate significant peak power. Spatially-resolved and spatially integrated X-ray spectral data as well as time integrated pinhole X-ray images were analyzed. Non-LTE kinetic models were applied to study the axial gradients of electron temperatures and densities in these X-pinch and Z-pinch plasmas. Specifically, X-ray spectra of K-shell Al and Mg, and L-shell Mo were modeled. As a result, we discuss the dependence of the plasma spatial structure, temperature, density, and opacity. The importance of using different materials or alloys for Z-pinch plasma diagnostics is illustrated.

Structure of the dense cores and ablation plasmas in the initiation phase of tungsten wire-array Z pinches

The early stages of tungsten (W) wire-array Z-pinch implosions have been studied using two-frame point projection x-ray backlighting on the 1MA COBRA pulsed power generator [J. D. Douglass, J. B. Greenly, D. A. Hammer, and B. R. Kusse, in Proceedings of the 15th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference, Monterey, 2005 (to be published)]. X-pinch backlighter images with subnanosecond time resolution and 4–10μm spatial resolution have been obtained of individual W exploding wires in 8-wire arrays that show evolution of wire-core and coronal plasma structures. The timing of the X-pinch x-ray bursts relative to the Z-pinch initiation time was adjusted over a 50ns time interval by varying the X-pinch mass per unit length. Wire-cores seen in two images separated in view by 120° show that the expansion is remarkably azimuthally symmetric. A strong correlation is observed between the structure on the dense exploding wire-cores and the structure of the ⩾1018∕cm3 ablation plasma being drawn from radial prominences. Plasma ablation velocity was estimated to have a lower bound of 24km∕s. The wire-core expansion rate was found to be approximately constant with time over the interval 50–100ns after the start of the current pulse. Finally, micron-scale axial gaps, seen as early as 70ns into the current pulse and persisting from that time, were observed along the wire-core.

Hybrid simulation of z-pinches in support of wire array implosion experiments at the Nevada Terawatt Facility

Three-dimensional hybrid simulation of a plasma current-carrying column reveal two different regimes of sausage and kink instability development. In the first regime, with small Hall parameter, development of instabilities leads to the appearance of large-scale axial perturbations and eventually to bending of the plasma column. In the second regime, with a four-times-larger Hall parameter, small-scale perturbations dominate and no bending of the plasma column is observed. Simulation results are compared with laser probing experimental data obtained during wire array implosions on the Zebra pulse power generator at the Nevada Terawatt Facility.

Wire dynamics model of the implosion of nested and planar wire arrays

This paper presents the wire dynamics model (WDM), which can effectively replace the generic 0D (zero-dimensional) model in simulation of the implosions of arbitrary shaped wire arrays, including high-wire-number nested and planar array loads at multi-MA generators. Fast and inexpensive WDM modeling can predict the array implosion time and the rate of thermalization of the kinetic energy, and can estimate the timing of the x-ray pulse. Besides serving the purposes of the design and optimization of the wire array loads of complex configurations, the WDM reproduces the specific features of the wire array implosion dynamics due to the inductive current transfer, which makes the WDM a valuable amplification of the magnetohydrodynamic models.

Al and W Wire Array Implosions and Energy Deposition on the 1-MA COBRA Generator

Implosion characteristics of cylindrical arrays of aluminum (Al) or tungsten (W) wires with low number of wires were studied on the 1-MA 100-150-ns current rise time COBRA generator at Cornell University using X-ray/extreme ultraviolet detectors, time-gated cameras, spectrometers, and electrical diagnostics. Total radiation yields E <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">T</sub> of 2.8 and 4.1 kJ were measured for Al and W, respectively. The yield above 0.75 keV for W arrays was lower than for Al. Al spectra imply T <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">e </sub> of 250-280 eV. X-ray spectra in the 2-3-keV range from W arrays showed only very weak spectral lines. A relatively uniform precursor plasma column was observed on time-gated images in the initial implosion phase for both Al and W. Rapid radiation cooling of W plasmas after precursor plasma formation leads to a decrease of plasma T <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">e</sub> before the stagnation phase of the implosion. No evidence of the increased energy deposition that could be associated with the single-shell or closed toroidal magnetic structures models was found

Integrated two-dimensional simulations of dynamic hohlraum driven inertial fusion capsule implosions

Simulations have been useful for improving the design of dynamic hohlraums for the purpose of imploding inertial fusion capsules [S. A. Slutz, J. E. Bailey, G. A. Chandler et al., Phys. Plasmas 10, 1875 (2003)]. These design changes, which have resulted in capsule implosions with hot dense cores [J. E. Bailey, G. A. Chandler, S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 085002 (2004)] and the production of thermonuclear neutrons [C. L. Ruiz, G. Cooper, S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 015001 (2005)], were based primarily on a series of one-dimensional numerical simulations, which treated the dynamic hohlraum and the capsule implosion separately. In this paper we present simulations which are fully integrated to include the implosion of wire arrays onto foam convertors, the implosion of the capsule imbedded in the foam, and the absorption of radiation into the electrodes. These simulations yield predictions that are in remarkably good agreement with measured values considering the complexity of the problem, which spans more than 100ns of wire implosion with the subsequent capsule implosion on a few ns timescale. For example, the predicted neutron yields are less than a factor of 2 higher than the measured values, while the predicted shock velocity is about 30% higher than the measured value. The spectroscopically inferred imploded capsule gas core temperatures are somewhat lower than predicted by the simulations, while the gas densities are about a factor of 2 higher. Simulations indicate that a more slowly rising radiation drive temperature yields higher core densities and lower temperatures and thus better agreement with experimental measurements. Possible reasons for a more slowly rising radiation drive are discussed.