Search

The dynamics of large- and small-scale plasma structures is investigated in the precursor of 1-MA wire array Z-pinches by laser probing diagnostics. It is found that plasma streams from the wires induce density perturbations in the precursor. Small-scale perturbations and large-scale cells arise in the nonlinear stage before implosion. The spatial and temporal scales of the observed structures are in agreement with the theoretical investigation for current-driven excitation of electromagnetic flute modes. Index Terms--Flute modes, plasma turbulence, wire array Z-pinches.

Experiments in the last few years at the 20-MA Z Accelerator have produced significant K-shell X-ray output from a variety of initial load materials, including aluminum (1.7-keV photons, > 400-kJ yield), argon (3.1-keV photons, > 300-kJ yield), titanium (4.8-keV photons, 100-kJ yield), stainless steel (6.7-keV photons, > 50-kJ yield), and copper (8.4-keV photons, 20-kJ yield). K-shell scaling theories developed at the Naval Research Laboratory [K. G. Whitney et al., Phys. Rev. E 50, 2166 (1994)] in the 1990s were benchmarked against the Al K-shell emission data from < 10-MA facilities. The experiments at Z have not only led to a heuristic validation of this original theory but have also provided the data to fine tune the models for application to higher photon energies and for extension to higher current generators. The upgrade of the Z Accelerator to ZR, which will provide 26 MA to a Z-pinch load, should increase the radiated K-shell output for sources previously fielded at Z and will extend the range of photon energies where measurable radiation can be observed, which is likely up to 13 keV. A summary of the K-shell experiments at Z is presented, as well as an overview of the modified empirical-scaling theory. Proposed load configurations for ZR are discussed, as well as predictions for K-shell output. Index Terms--K-shell radiation, plasma pinch, X-ray measurements, X-ray production.

This paper presents theoretical extrapolations for the multi-keV X-ray radiation production capability of the 26-MA ZR accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories, which is scheduled to become available for experiments in 2007. These extrapolations are based on scaling models and ideas that have been developed over the years. These models and ideas have evolved and been refined through the process of benchmarking one-dimensional non-local-thermodynamic equilibrium magnetohydrodynamic model results to experimental K-shell yields and powers as well as inferred temperatures and densities. For this ZR assessment, the models are first benchmarked to K-shell yields obtained from argon, titanium, stainless-steel, and copper Z experiments and then they are applied to extrapolate yield predictions to the ZR machine. Extrapolations are based on 2-cm-length loads and similar wire configurations and nozzle designs as those employed in Z experiments. Projected K-shell yields for Ar (photon energy ~3 keV), Ti (~5 keV), stainless steel (~7 keV), and Cu (~8.6 keV) are 520, 300, 200, and 80 k J, respectively. In addition, the high-energy free-bound continuum emission above 10 keV is calculated to be 40 kJ on ZR. Index Terms--K-shell radiation, magnetohydrodynamics, plasma pinch, X-ray production.

A Faraday rotation diagnostic was applied for the investigation of magnetic fields in plasma of 1-MA wire arrays and X-pinches. Laser-probing diagnostics at the Zebra generator include a four-channel polarointerferometer and a four-frame shadowgraphy. The Faraday rotation diagnostic consists of shadow and Faraday channels, shearing air-wedge interferometer, and an additional schlieren channel. The implosion dynamics of the wire arrays were studied. A current in the plasma column of AI low-wire number arrays was found by the Faraday rotation diagnostic. Optical diagnostics showed a turbulent plasma and bubblelike objects in the plasma column of Al wire arrays. The Faraday rotation diagnostic demonstrated a complicated structure of magnetic fields in X-pinch plasma. Index Terms--Faraday effect, laser probing, plasma turbulence, wire-array Z-pinch, Z-pinch plasmas.

Recent experiments (laser multiframe shadowgraphy and Faraday rotation diagnostics) with Al imploding wire arrays in the 1-MA 'Zebra' accelerator at the Nevada Terawatt Facility have demonstrated that a significant amount of current is going through the central region of the high-beta precursor plasma. With time, the perturbations develop both long scale structures and short-wavelength oscillations in the directions perpendicular to the magnetic field. The most likely candidate for the observed phenomena is the flutelike electromagnetic modes. These are excited in the current-carrying high-beta inhomogeneous precursor plasma due to the curvature of the magnetic field produced by the current. These modes may also play a role in the stagnation phase of Z-pinches. In this paper, nonlinear equations describing electromagnetic-flute-type oscillations in the high-beta precursor plasma are derived, and the linear stage of instability of these waves is examined. A comparison with the experimental results is performed as well. Index Terms--Flute modes, nonlinear cascades, turbulence, Z-pinch plasmas.

A monochromatic X-ray self-emission imaging diagnostic has been developed for the Z accelerator, which drives 20 MA in 100 ns to implode wire array Z-pinches, generating up to 250 TW of soft X-ray radiation. This instrument reflects eight pinhole images from a flat Cr/C multilayer mirror (MLM) onto a 1-ns time-resolved microchannel plate detector. The MLM reflects 277-eV photons with ~5-eV bandwidth and 20% peak reflectivity, and an aluminized parylene filter shields the detector from visible light. High-energy bremsstrahlung X-rays do not follow the reflected beam path, and so the background on the shielded detector is reduced compared to a standard pinhole camera. The MLM-reflected images offer low-photon-energy spectral resolution that filtration alone cannot, yielding high-quality images of the final stages of the Z-pinch implosion. Initial data on Z from a Cu wire array will be presented. Observed phenomena include implosion instabilities, zippered implosion of a piston onto a pre-cursor column during the onset of stagnation, accretion of trailing colder mass during the X-ray pulse, and cathode reemission. The inferred implosion velocity is significantly less than thin-shell implosion model calculations, and well below what is required for efficient Cu K-shell radiation. Instability-dominated, bright-spot Cu K-shell emission is seen on a second adjacent eight-frame filtered pinhole camera that is in the same beamline. Index Terms--Magnetohydrodynamics, nonhomogenous media, plasma measurements, plasma pinch, K-shell radiation, X-ray imaging, X-ray ineasurements, X-ray production.

In the following experiments, we studied implosions of different wire arrays and X-pinches produced on the 1-MA Zebra generator at the University of Nevada, Reno. Diagnostics included both spatially-resolved and time-gated X-ray imaging and spectroscopy, and laser probing. In particular, we compared planar wire arrays, to which little energy could be coupled via the conventional magnetic-to-kinetic conversion mechanism, to cylindrical wire arrays of comparable dimensions and mass. The planar wire arrays were shown to radiate much higher peak power and more energy in subkiloelectronvolt and kiloelectronvolt spectral ranges than cylindrical wire arrays. We tested the theoretical conjecture that enhanced resistivity due to the small-scale inhomogeneity of wire-array plasmas has a major effect on dynamics, energy coupling and radiation performance of wire-array Z-pinches. The study of Al, Alumel, and W cylindrical wire arrays shows a wide variety of characteristic behaviors in plasma implosions discussed hereinafter. Additional experimental results for symmetric and asymmetric, uniform stainless steel, Cu, Mo, combined Al/Mo, Mo/Al, Al/W, W/Al, and Mo/W X-pinches are also presented. New data for the total radiation yield are obtained. The planar structures of X-pinch plasma and the corresponding electron beam was observed for most of X-pinches. The generation of hot spots along original wires positions--cooler than those from the cross-wire region--and arc structures with hot spots between wires were found for X-pinches composed from Al, Cu, and W wires. Index Terms--Wire arrays, X-pinches, X-ray imaging, X-ray spectroscopy, Z-pinch.

In this paper, we study the dynamics of a massive aluminum Z-pinch plasma load and evaluate its performance as a soft X-ray radiator. A radiation hydrodynamic model self-consistently driven by a circuit describes the dynamics. Comparisons are made for the K- and L-shell soft X-ray emission as a function of the ionization dynamic model. The ionization dynamic models are represented by: 1) a time-dependent nonequilibrium (NEQ) model, 2) a collisional radiative equilibrium (CRE) model, and 3) a local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) model. For all three scenarios the radiation is treated 1) in the free streaming optically thin approximation where the plasma is treated as a volume emitter and 2) in the optically thick regime where the opacity for the lines and continuum is self-consistently calculated online and the radiation is transported through the plasma. Each simulation is carried out independently to determine the sensitivity of the implosion dynamics to the ionization and radiation model, i.e., how the ionization dynamic model affects the radiative yield and emission spectra. Results are presented for the L- and K-shell radiation yields and emission spectra as a function of photon energy from 10 eV to 10 keV. Also, departure coefficients from LTE are presented for selected levels and ionization stages. Index Terms - Magnetohydrodynamics, pulse power systems, X-ray spectroscopy.

We consider the question of how the temperature profile of a Z-pinch plasma can be determined and/or constrained by the requirement that its observed K-shell spectrum be replicated. As a case study we employ spatially integrated, time-resolved K-shell data obtained from the implosion of 30-wire Al:Mg alloy arrays on the Saturn driver at Sandia National Laboratories. Given the measured pinch size, its K-shell power and line intensities are compared with the predictions of a collisional-radiative-equilibrium plasma model whose temperature profile is varied in seeking agreement with the data. The Al data rules out a large range of possible temperature profiles, but two quite different temperature distributions can both match the measurements. These are: a uniform temperature, or, one with a sharply dropping temperature near the pinch outer edge. However, the measured ratio of the Mg [Alpha] resonance lines to those of Al, even though time-integrated, excludes the possibility of a uniform temperature distribution. Index Terms - Plasma measurements, plasma pinch, spectral analysis, X-ray measurements, X-ray production, X-ray spectroscopy.

Doubling the number of tungsten wires from 120 to 240, keeping the mass fixed, increased the radiated X-ray power relative to the electrical power at the insulator stack of the Z accelerator by (35 [+ or -]15)% for 8.75- and 20-mm radii Z-pinch wire arrays. One-dimensional radiation magneto hydrodynamic calculations suggest that the arrays were operating in a quasi 'plasma-shell' regime, where the plasma generated by the individual wires partially merge prior to the inward implosion of the entire array. Index Terms - Plasma pinch, Z-pinch.

In order to study wire array Z-pinch instabilities, perturbations have been seeded by etching 15 μm diameter aluminum wires to introduce 20% modulations in radius with a controlled axial wavelength. These perturbations seed additional imploding structures that are studied experimentally on the 1 MA, 250 ns MAGPIE generator [S. V. Lebedev et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 47, A91 (2005)] and with three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic calculations using the ALEGRA-HEDP [A. C. Robinson and C. J. Garasi, Comput. Phys. Commun. 164, 408 (2004)] and GORGON [J. P. Chittenden et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 46, B457 (2004)] codes. Simulations indicate that current path nonuniformity at discontinuities in the wire radius result in perturbation-induced magnetic bubble formation. Imploding bubbles originating from discontinuities are observed experimentally, and their collision on axis determines the start of the main x-ray pulse rise. These mechanisms likely govern dynamics of standard wire array Z pinches, and tailoring the profile of imploding mass may allow x-ray pulse shaping for inertial confinement fusion applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]