The National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the National Ignition Campaign (NIC).

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). PDF Author:
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ISBN:
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Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Book Description
The National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest and most powerful laser system for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and experiments studying high-energy-density (HED) science, is now operational at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). NIF construction was certified by the Department of Energy as complete on March 27, 2009. NIF, a 192-beam Nd:glass laser facility, will ultimately produce 1.8-MJ, 500-TW of 351-nm third-harmonic, ultraviolet light. On March 10, 2009, total 192-beam energy of 1.1 MJ was demonstrated; this is approximately 30 times more energy than ever produced in an ICF laser system. The principal goal of NIF is to achieve ignition of a deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel capsule and provide access to HED physics regimes needed for experiments related to national security, fusion energy and broader frontier scientific exploration. NIF experiments in support of indirect-drive ignition began in August 2009. These first experiments represent the next phase of the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). The NIC is a national effort to achieve fusion ignition and is coordinated through a detailed execution plan that includes the science, technology, and equipment. Equipment required for ignition experiments includes diagnostics, a cryogenic target manipulator, and user optics. Participants in this effort include LLNL, General Atomics (GA), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Energetics (LLE). The primary goal for NIC is to have all of the equipment operational, integrated into the facility, and ready to begin a credible ignition campaign in 2010. With NIF now operational, the long-sought goal of achieving self-sustained nuclear fusion and energy gain in the laboratory is much closer to realization. Successful demonstration of ignition and net energy gain on NIF will be a major step towards demonstrating the feasibility of Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) and will likely focus the world's attention on the possibility of an ICF energy option. NIF experiments to demonstrate ignition and gain will use central-hot-spot (CHS) ignition, where a spherical fuel capsule is simultaneously compressed and ignited. The scientific basis for CHS has been intensively developed. Achieving ignition with CHS will open the door for other advanced concepts, such as the use of high-yield pulses of visible wavelength rather than ultraviolet and Fast Ignition concepts. Moreover, NIF will have important scientific applications in such diverse fields as astrophysics, nuclear physics and materials science. The NIC will develop the full set of capabilities required to operate NIF as a major national and international user facility. A solicitation for NIF frontier science experiments is planned for summer 2009. This paper summarizes the design, performance, and status of NIF and plans for the NIF ignition experimental program. A brief summary of the overall NIF experimental program is also presented.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the National Ignition Campaign (NIC).

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Book Description
The National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest and most powerful laser system for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and experiments studying high-energy-density (HED) science, is now operational at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). NIF construction was certified by the Department of Energy as complete on March 27, 2009. NIF, a 192-beam Nd:glass laser facility, will ultimately produce 1.8-MJ, 500-TW of 351-nm third-harmonic, ultraviolet light. On March 10, 2009, total 192-beam energy of 1.1 MJ was demonstrated; this is approximately 30 times more energy than ever produced in an ICF laser system. The principal goal of NIF is to achieve ignition of a deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel capsule and provide access to HED physics regimes needed for experiments related to national security, fusion energy and broader frontier scientific exploration. NIF experiments in support of indirect-drive ignition began in August 2009. These first experiments represent the next phase of the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). The NIC is a national effort to achieve fusion ignition and is coordinated through a detailed execution plan that includes the science, technology, and equipment. Equipment required for ignition experiments includes diagnostics, a cryogenic target manipulator, and user optics. Participants in this effort include LLNL, General Atomics (GA), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Energetics (LLE). The primary goal for NIC is to have all of the equipment operational, integrated into the facility, and ready to begin a credible ignition campaign in 2010. With NIF now operational, the long-sought goal of achieving self-sustained nuclear fusion and energy gain in the laboratory is much closer to realization. Successful demonstration of ignition and net energy gain on NIF will be a major step towards demonstrating the feasibility of Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) and will likely focus the world's attention on the possibility of an ICF energy option. NIF experiments to demonstrate ignition and gain will use central-hot-spot (CHS) ignition, where a spherical fuel capsule is simultaneously compressed and ignited. The scientific basis for CHS has been intensively developed. Achieving ignition with CHS will open the door for other advanced concepts, such as the use of high-yield pulses of visible wavelength rather than ultraviolet and Fast Ignition concepts. Moreover, NIF will have important scientific applications in such diverse fields as astrophysics, nuclear physics and materials science. The NIC will develop the full set of capabilities required to operate NIF as a major national and international user facility. A solicitation for NIF frontier science experiments is planned for summer 2009. This paper summarizes the design, performance, and status of NIF and plans for the NIF ignition experimental program. A brief summary of the overall NIF experimental program is also presented.

The National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility PDF Author: Jim Wells
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 9780756705374
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
The Univ. of CA, under contract to the DoE to operate Lawrence Livermore Nat. Lab., is building the Nat. Ignition Facility. DoE considers the Nat. Ignition Facility an essential component of its Stockpile Stewardship Program, which is responsible for ensuring the safety & reliability of nuclear weapons in the absence of nuclear testing. The Nat. Ignition Facility was originally expected to cost about $2 billion when complete in 2002, but DoE has increased the cost & moved the completion date to 2006. This report determines the magnitude of the Nat. Ignition Facility's cost & schedule overruns; documents the reasons for them; & assesses the effects of the Nat. Ignition Facility's cost & schedule on other weapons programs. Tables.

The NIF Ignition Program

The NIF Ignition Program PDF Author: B. A. Hammel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 13

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Book Description
The first experimental campaign for ignition, beginning in 2010 after NIF construction and commissioning are completed, will include experiments to measure and optimize key laser and target conditions necessary for ignition. These ''tuning campaigns'' will precede the first ignition shots. Ignition requires acceptable target performance in several key areas: Energetics, Symmetry, Shock timing, and Capsule Hydrodynamics. Detailed planning and simulations for ''tuning campaigns'' in each of these areas is currently underway, as part of the National Ignition Campaign (NIC) Program. Tuning and diagnostic methods are being developed and tested on present facilities, including the Omega laser at the Laboratory for Energetics (LLE), the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the Trident laser at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

Advances in Inertial Confinement Fusion at the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

Advances in Inertial Confinement Fusion at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 16

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Book Description
The 192-beam National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, CA, is now operational and conducting experiments. NIF, the flagship facility of the U.S. Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program, will achieve high-energy-density conditions never previously obtained in the laboratory - temperatures over 100 million K, densities of 1,000 g/cm3, and pressures exceeding 100 billion atmospheres. Such conditions exist naturally only in the interiors of the stars and during thermonuclear burn. Demonstration of ignition and thermonuclear burn in the laboratory is a major NIF goal. To date, the NIF laser has demonstrated all pulse shape, beam quality, energy, and other specifications required to meet the ignition challenge. On March 10, 2009, the NIF laser delivered 1.1 MJ of ultraviolet laser energy to target chamber center, approximately 30 times more energy than any previous facility. The ignition program at NIF is the National Ignition Campaign (NIC), a national collaboration for ignition experimentation with participation from General Atomics, LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The achievement of ignition at NIF will demonstrate the scientific feasibility of ICF and focus worldwide attention on fusion as a viable energy option. A particular energy concept under investigation is the LIFE (Laser Inertial Fusion Energy) scheme. The LIFE engine is inherently safe, minimizes proliferation concerns associated with the nuclear fuel cycle, and can provide a sustainable carbon-free energy generation solution in the 21st century. This talk will describe NIF and its potential as a user facility and an experimental platform for high-energy-density science, NIC, and the LIFE approach for clean, sustainable energy.

Review of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program

Review of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309057787
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 63

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Book Description


The National Ignition Facility and the Path to Fusion Energy

The National Ignition Facility and the Path to Fusion Energy PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Book Description
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is operational and conducting experiments at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The NIF is the world's largest and most energetic laser experimental facility with 192 beams capable of delivering 1.8 megajoules of 500-terawatt ultraviolet laser energy, over 60 times more energy than any previous laser system. The NIF can create temperatures of more than 100 million degrees and pressures more than 100 billion times Earth's atmospheric pressure. These conditions, similar to those at the center of the sun, have never been created in the laboratory and will allow scientists to probe the physics of planetary interiors, supernovae, black holes, and other phenomena. The NIF's laser beams are designed to compress fusion targets to the conditions required for thermonuclear burn, liberating more energy than is required to initiate the fusion reactions. Experiments on the NIF are focusing on demonstrating fusion ignition and burn via inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The ignition program is conducted via the National Ignition Campaign (NIC) - a partnership among LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and General Atomics. The NIC program has also established collaborations with the Atomic Weapons Establishment in the United Kingdom, Commissariat a Energie Atomique in France, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and many others. Ignition experiments have begun that form the basis of the overall NIF strategy for achieving ignition. Accomplishing this goal will demonstrate the feasibility of fusion as a source of limitless, clean energy for the future. This paper discusses the current status of the NIC, the experimental steps needed toward achieving ignition and the steps required to demonstrate and enable the delivery of fusion energy as a viable carbon-free energy source.

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

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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.

Ignition and Inertial Confinement Fusion at The National Ignition Facility

Ignition and Inertial Confinement Fusion at The National Ignition Facility PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 10

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Book Description
The National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest and most powerful laser system for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and for studying high-energy-density (HED) science, is now operational at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The NIF is now conducting experiments to commission the laser drive, the hohlraum and the capsule and to develop the infrastructure needed to begin the first ignition experiments in FY 2010. Demonstration of ignition and thermonuclear burn in the laboratory is a major NIF goal. NIF will achieve this by concentrating the energy from the 192 beams into a mm3-sized target and igniting a deuterium-tritium mix, liberating more energy than is required to initiate the fusion reaction. NIF's ignition program is a national effort managed via the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). The NIC has two major goals: execution of DT ignition experiments starting in FY2010 with the goal of demonstrating ignition and a reliable, repeatable ignition platform by the conclusion of the NIC at the end of FY2012. The NIC will also develop the infrastructure and the processes required to operate NIF as a national user facility. The achievement of ignition at NIF will demonstrate the scientific feasibility of ICF and focus worldwide attention on laser fusion as a viable energy option. A laser fusion-based energy concept that builds on NIF, known as LIFE (Laser Inertial Fusion Energy), is currently under development. LIFE is inherently safe and can provide a global carbon-free energy generation solution in the 21st century. This paper describes recent progress on NIF, NIC, and the LIFE concept.

The Role of the National Ignition Facility in the Development of Inertial Fusion Energy

The Role of the National Ignition Facility in the Development of Inertial Fusion Energy PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 10

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Book Description
The authors have completed a conceptual design for a 1.8-MJ, 500-TW, 0.35-[mu]m solid-state laser system for the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which will demonstrate inertial fusion ignition and gain for national security, energy, and science applications. The technical goal of the U.S. Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program as stated in the current ICF Five-Year Program Plan is {open_quotes}to produce pure fusion ignition and burn in the laboratory, with fusion yields of 200 to 1000 MJ, in support of three missions: (1) to play an essential role in accessing physics regimes of interest in nuclear weapon design ... ; (2) to provide an above-ground simulation capability for nuclear weapon effects ... ; and (3) to develop inertial fusion energy for civilian power production.{close_quotes} This article addresses the third goal-- the development of inertial fusion energy (IFE). This article reports a variety of potential contributions the NIF could make to the development of IFE, drawn from a nationally attended workshop held at the University of California at Berkeley in Feb, 1994. In addition to demonstrating fusion ignition as a fundamental basis for IFE, the findings of the workshop, are that the NIF could also provide important data for target physics and fabrication technology, for IFE target chamber phenomena such as materials responses to target emissions, and for fusion power technology-relevant tests.

The National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The National Ignition Facility (NIF), currently under construction at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is a stadium-sized facility containing a 192-beam, 1.8-Megajoule, 500-Terawatt, 351-nm laser system and a 10-meter diameter target chamber with room for nearly 100 experimental diagnostics. NIF is being built by the National Nuclear Security Administration and when completed will be the world's largest laser experimental system, providing a national center to study inertial confinement fusion and the physics of matter at extreme energy densities and pressures. NIF's 192 energetic laser beams will compress fusion targets to conditions where they will ignite and burn, liberating more energy than required to initiate the fusion reactions. NIF experiments will allow the study of physical processes at temperatures approaching 100 million K and 100 billion times atmospheric pressure. These conditions exist naturally only in the interior of stars and in nuclear weapons explosions. In the course of designing the world's most energetic laser system, a number of significant technology breakthroughs have been achieved. NIF is now entering the first phases of its laser commissioning program. Low-energy preamplifier rod laser shots have been successfully propagated through the entire laser chain. Higher energy shots are planned through the end of 2002. NIF's target experimental systems are also being installed in preparation for laser performance and experimental capability commissioning starting in 2003.