Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel Implosions on the National Ignition Facility

Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel Implosions on the National Ignition Facility PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 18

Get Book Here

Book Description

Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel Implosions on the National Ignition Facility

Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel Implosions on the National Ignition Facility PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 18

Get Book Here

Book Description


First Implosion Experiments with Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel on the National Ignition Facility

First Implosion Experiments with Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel on the National Ignition Facility PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 33

Get Book Here

Book Description


Imaging of High-Energy X-Ray Emission from Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel Implosions on the NIF.

Imaging of High-Energy X-Ray Emission from Cryogenic Thermonuclear Fuel Implosions on the NIF. PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 5

Get Book Here

Book Description
Accurately assessing and optimizing the implosion performance of inertial confinement fusion capsules is a crucial step to achieving ignition on the NIF. We have applied differential filtering (matched Ross filter pairs) to provide spectrally resolved time-integrated absolute x-ray self-emission images of the imploded core of cryogenic layered targets. Using bremsstrahlung assumptions, the measured absolute x-ray brightness allows for the inference of electron temperature, electron density, hot spot mass, mix mass, and pressure. Current inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments conducted on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) seek to indirectly drive a spherical implosion, compressing and igniting a deuterium-tritium fuel. This DT fuel capsule is cryogenically prepared as a solid ice layer surrounded by a low-Z ablator material. Ignition will occur when the hot spot approaches sufficient temperature (H"-4 keV) and?R (H".3 g/cm2) such that alpha deposition can further heat the hot spot and generate a self-sustaining burn wave. During the implosion, the fuel mass becomes hot enough to emit large amounts of x-ray radiation, the spectra and spatial variation of which contains key information that can be used to evaluate the implosion performance. The Ross filter diagnostic employs differential filtering to provide spectrally resolved, time-integrated, absolute x-ray self-emission images of the imploded core of cryogenic layered targets.

Hot-spot Mix in Ignition-scale Implosions on the NIF [Hot-spot Mix in Ignition-scale Implosions on the National Ignition Facility (NIF)].

Hot-spot Mix in Ignition-scale Implosions on the NIF [Hot-spot Mix in Ignition-scale Implosions on the National Ignition Facility (NIF)]. PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ignition of an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target depends on the formation of a central hot spot with sufficient temperature and areal density. Radiative and conductive losses from the hot spot can be enhanced by hydrodynamic instabilities. The concentric spherical layers of current National Ignition Facility (NIF) ignition targets consist of a plastic ablator surrounding 2 a thin shell of cryogenic thermonuclear fuel (i.e., hydrogen isotopes), with fuel vapor filling the interior volume. The Rev. 5 ablator is doped with Ge to minimize preheat of the ablator closest to the DT ice caused by Au M-band emission from the hohlraum x-ray drive. Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instabilities seeded by high-mode (50

An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy

An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309272246
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Get Book Here

Book Description
The potential for using fusion energy to produce commercial electric power was first explored in the 1950s. Harnessing fusion energy offers the prospect of a nearly carbon-free energy source with a virtually unlimited supply of fuel. Unlike nuclear fission plants, appropriately designed fusion power plants would not produce the large amounts of high-level nuclear waste that requires long-term disposal. Due to these prospects, many nations have initiated research and development (R&D) programs aimed at developing fusion as an energy source. Two R&D approaches are being explored: magnetic fusion energy (MFE) and inertial fusion energy (IFE). An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy describes and assesses the current status of IFE research in the United States; compares the various technical approaches to IFE; and identifies the scientific and engineering challenges associated with developing inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in particular as an energy source. It also provides guidance on an R&D roadmap at the conceptual level for a national program focusing on the design and construction of an inertial fusion energy demonstration plant.

Progress Toward Ignition on the National Ignition Facility

Progress Toward Ignition on the National Ignition Facility PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 6

Get Book Here

Book Description
The principal approach to ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is indirect drive. A schematic of an ignition target is shown in Figure 1. The laser beams are focused through laser entrance holes at each end of a high-Z cylindrical case, or hohlraum. The lasers irradiate the hohlraum walls producing x-rays that ablate and compress the fuel capsule in the center of the hohlraum. The hohlraum is made of Au, U, or other high-Z material. For ignition targets, the hohlraum is H".5 cm diameter by H" cm in length. The hohlraum absorbs the incident laser energy producing x-rays for symmetrically imploding the capsule. The fuel capsule is a H"--Mm-diameter spherical shell of CH, Be, or C filled with DT fuel. The DT fuel is in the form of a cryogenic layer on the inside of the capsule. X-rays ablate the outside of the capsule, producing a spherical implosion. The imploding shell stagnates in the center, igniting the DT fuel. NIC has overseen installation of all of the hardware for performing ignition experiments, including commissioning of approximately 50 diagnostic systems in NIF. The diagnostics measure scattered optical light, x-rays from the hohlraum over the energy range from 100 eV to 500 keV, and x-rays, neutrons, and charged particles from the implosion. An example of a diagnostic is the Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MRS) built by a collaboration of scientists from MIT, UR-LLE, and LLNL shown in Figure 2. MRS measures the neutron spectrum from the implosion, providing information on the neutron yield and areal density that are metrics of the quality of the implosion. Experiments on NIF extend ICF research to unexplored regimes in target physics. NIF can produce more than 50 times the laser energy and more than 20 times the power of any previous ICF facility. Ignition scale hohlraum targets are three to four times larger than targets used at smaller facilities, and the ignition drive pulses are two to five times longer. The larger targets and longer pulse lengths produce unique plasma conditions for laser-plasma instabilities that could reduce hohlraum coupling efficiency. Initial experiments have demonstrated efficient coupling of laser energy to x-rays. X-ray drive greater than 300 eV has been measured in gas-filled ignition hohlraum and shows the expected scaling with laser energy and hohlraum scale size. Experiments are now optimizing capsule implosions for ignition. Ignition conditions require assembling the fuel with sufficient density and temperature for thermonuclear burn. X-rays ablate the outside of the capsule, accelerating and spherically compressing the capsule for assembling the fuel. The implosion stagnates, heating the central core and producing a hot spot that ignites and burns the surrounding fuel. The four main characteristics of the implosion are shell velocity, central hot spot shape, fuel adiabat, and mix. Experiments studying these four characteristics of implosions are used to optimize the implosion. Integrated experiments using cryogenic fuel layer experiments demonstrate the quality of the implosion as the optimization experiments progress. The final compressed fuel conditions are diagnosed by measuring the x-ray emission from the hot core and the neutrons and charged particles produced in the fusion reactions. Metrics of the quality of the implosion are the neutron yield and the shell areal density, as well as the size and shape of the core. The yield depends on the amount of fuel in the hot core and its temperature and is a gauge of the energy coupling to the fuel. The areal density, the density of the fuel times its thickness, diagnoses the fuel assembly, which is measured using the fraction of neutrons that are down scattered passing through the dense shell. The yield and fraction of down scattered neutrons, or shell rho-r, from the cryogenic layered implosions are shown in Figure 3. The different sets of data represent results after a series of implosion optimization experiments. Both yield and areal density show significant increases as a result of the optimization. The experimental Ignition Threshold Factor (ITFX) is a measure of the progress toward ignition. ITFX is analogous to the Lawson Criterion in Magnetic Fusion. Implosions have improved by over a factor of 50 since the first cryogenic layered experiments were done in September 2010. This increase is a measure of the progress made toward the ignition goal in the past year. Optimization experiments are planned in the coming year for continued improvement in implosion performance to achieve the ignition goal. In summary, NIF has made significant progress toward ignition in the 30 months since project completion. Diagnostics and all of the supporting equipment are in place for ignition experiments. The Ignition Campaign is under way as a national collaborative effort of all the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) science laboratories as well as international partners.

Performance of High-Convergence, Layered DT Implosions on Power-Scaling Experiments at National Ignition Facility

Performance of High-Convergence, Layered DT Implosions on Power-Scaling Experiments at National Ignition Facility PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
The radiation-driven, low-adiabat, cryogenic DT layered plastic capsule implosions were carried out on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to study the sensitivity of performance to peak power and drive duration. An implosion with extended drive and at reduced peak power of 350 TW achieved the highest compression with fuel areal density of ~1.3±0.1 g/cm 2, representing a significant step from previously measured ~1.0 g/cm2 toward a goal of 1.5 g/cm 2. Moreover, for future experiments will focus on understanding and mitigating hydrodynamic instabilities and mix, and improving symmetry required to reach the threshold for thermonuclear ignition on NIF.

Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets

Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309270626
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 119

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the fall of 2010, the Office of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Secretary for Science asked for a National Research Council (NRC) committee to investigate the prospects for generating power using inertial confinement fusion (ICF) concepts, acknowledging that a key test of viability for this concept-ignition -could be demonstrated at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the relatively near term. The committee was asked to provide an unclassified report. However, DOE indicated that to fully assess this topic, the committee's deliberations would have to be informed by the results of some classified experiments and information, particularly in the area of ICF targets and nonproliferation. Thus, the Panel on the Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets ("the panel") was assembled, composed of experts able to access the needed information. The panel was charged with advising the Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems on these issues, both by internal discussion and by this unclassified report. A Panel on Fusion Target Physics ("the panel") will serve as a technical resource to the Committee on Inertial Confinement Energy Systems ("the Committee") and will prepare a report that describes the R&D challenges to providing suitable targets, on the basis of parameters established and provided to the Panel by the Committee. The Panel on Fusion Target Physics will prepare a report that will assess the current performance of fusion targets associated with various ICF concepts in order to understand: 1. The spectrum output; 2. The illumination geometry; 3. The high-gain geometry; and 4. The robustness of the target design. The panel addressed the potential impacts of the use and development of current concepts for Inertial Fusion Energy on the proliferation of nuclear weapons information and technology, as appropriate. The Panel examined technology options, but does not provide recommendations specific to any currently operating or proposed ICF facility.

Diagnosing Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosions at OMEGA and the NIF Using Novel Neutron Spectrometry

Diagnosing Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosions at OMEGA and the NIF Using Novel Neutron Spectrometry PDF Author: Daniel Thomas Casey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book Here

Book Description
A novel neutron spectrometer, called the Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MRS), was designed, built, and implemented on the OMEGA laser facility and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to measure the neutron spectra from inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. Using the MRS, the down-scattered neutron (DSn) spectrum has been used to infer the areal density ([rho]R) of ICF implosions for the first time. The DSn technique is essential for diagnosing high [rho]R (>180mg/cm2) cryogenic deuterium-tritium (DT) implosions, where most other methods fail. The MRS has helped to guide the cryogenic campaign toward the highest [rho]Rs ever achieved at OMEGA. In addition, the MRS is currently being used to diagnose the DSn spectrum from cryogenic implosions at the NIF during the beginning phases of the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). MRS data have already been essential for tuning these implosions to the highest [rho]Rs ever achieved in an ICF implosion (>1 g/cm2), and thus for guiding the NIC toward the realization of thermonuclear ignition. The first measurements of the T(t,2n)4He (TT) neutron spectrum in DT implosions at OMEGA have also been conducted using the MRS. The TT-neutron (TTn) spectrum was measured at low reactant central-mass energies of ~23 keV. The results from these measurements indicate that the TT reaction proceeds primarily through the direct three-body reaction channel, which is in contrast to the results obtained in higher energy accelerator experiments. Measurements of the TTn and DD proton yields were also conducted and compared to the DT neutron yield in DT implosions. From these measurements, it is concluded that the DD yield is anomalously low and the TTn yield is anomalously high, relative to the DT yield. These results have been explained by a stratification of the fuel in the core of an ICF implosion.

Issues in Nuclear, High Energy, Plasma, Particle, and Condensed Matter Physics: 2013 Edition

Issues in Nuclear, High Energy, Plasma, Particle, and Condensed Matter Physics: 2013 Edition PDF Author:
Publisher: ScholarlyEditions
ISBN: 1490107819
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1198

Get Book Here

Book Description
Issues in Nuclear, High Energy, Plasma, Particle, and Condensed Matter Physics: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about High Energy Physics. The editors have built Issues in Nuclear, High Energy, Plasma, Particle, and Condensed Matter Physics: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about High Energy Physics in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Nuclear, High Energy, Plasma, Particle, and Condensed Matter Physics: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.