G.C. Osborne

Planar Wire Array as Powerful Radiation Source

The radiative performance of Al, Ni, and W planar wire arrays, to which little energy could be coupled via the conventional magnetic-to-kinetic conversion mechanism, is investigated. However, the planar wire arrays were shown to radiate much more energy in a short intense peak than possible due to dissipation of the kinetic energy. The planar array gives the unique possibility of seeing the evolution of the small-scale inhomogeneity of wire-array plasmas during wire ablation and implosion phases and highlights the importance of the Hall plasma phenomena and their impact on the dynamics, energy coupling, and radiation performance of wire-array Z-pinches

Double planar wire array as a compact plasma radiation source

Magnetically compressed plasmas initiated by a double planar wire array (DPWA) are efficient radiation sources. The two rows in a DPWA implode independently and then merge together at stagnation producing soft x-ray yields and powers of up to 11.5kJ∕cm and more than 0.4TW∕cm, higher than other planar arrays or low wire-number cylindrical arrays on the 1MA Zebra generator. DPWA, where precursors form in two stages, produce a shaped radiation pulse and radiate more energy in the main burst than estimates of implosion kinetic energy. High radiation efficiency, compact size (as small as 3–5mm wide), and pulse shaping show that the DPWA is a potential candidate for ICF and radiation physics research.

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 ax...

Spectroscopy and implosion dynamics of low wire number nested arrays on the 1 MA COBRA generator

Low wire number nested array Z-pinch experiments have been carried out with wires made of aluminum, stainless steel (uniform), and combinations of these two materials (mixed) on the 1MA COBRA generator at Cornell University [J. D. Douglass, J. B. Greenly, D. A. Hammer et al., in Proceedings of the 15th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference (IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 2005)]. The outer array consisted of eight wires, whereas the inner array had four or eight wires. The 10μm Al wires were alloy 5056 and the 6.25μm stainless steel wires were alloy SS304. The diagnostic suite included fast-x-ray and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) detectors, a time-gated x-ray pinhole camera, x-ray spectrometers, and laser shadow imaging. The main focus was made on the spectroscopic study of plasma evolution after the main x-ray burst though the data from photoconducting detector (PCD) and EUV signals over the whole period of current, and in addition laser shadowgraphy images before the main x-ray burst were analyzed. Modeling of t...

Studies of Radiative and Implosion Characteristics From Brass Planar Wire Arrays

Experiments with single-planar wire arrays (SPWA) and double PWAs (DPWAs) with brass 310 wires were carried out on the 1-MA Zebra generator at the University of Nevada, Reno. Brass 310 (70% Cu and 30% Zn) PWAs have either 10 or 16 wires with diameters of 10.9 or 7.62 ¿m, respectively. The diagnostic suite included a bolometer, fast X-ray detectors, an axially resolved time-integrated spectrometer, a time-gated spectrometer, a time-gated pinhole camera, and a streak camera. A wire dynamic model was applied to study implosion characteristics, and non-LTE Cu and Zn kinetic models were used to model L-shell radiation from brass. The analysis of the time-gated spectra showed a correlation between the modeled electron temperature and the X-ray signal, and it agrees well with the maximum values from the time-integrated spatially resolved spectra. Modeling of time-gated and time-integrated spectra from brass PWAs indicates stronger opacity effects in L-shell lines for DPWAs.

Radiation sources with planar wire arrays and planar foils for inertial confinement fusion and high energy density physics research

This article reports on the joint success of two independent lines of research, each of them being a multi-year international effort. One of these is the development of innovative sources, such as planar wire arrays (PWAs). PWAs turned out to be a prolific radiator, which act mainly as a resistor, even though the physical mechanism of efficient magnetic energy conversion into radiation still remains unclear. We review the results of our extensive studies of PWAs. We also report the new results of the experimental comparison PWAs with planar foil liners (another promising alternative to wire array loads at multi-mega-ampere generators). Pioneered at UNR, the PWA Z-pinch loads have later been tested at the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) on the Saturn generator, on GIT-12 machine in Russia, and on the QiangGuang-1 generator in China, always successfully. Another of these is the drastic improvement in energy efficiency of pulsed-power systems, which started in early 1980s with Zuckers experiments at Nava...

Implosion dynamics in double planar wire array Z pinches

The double planar wire array (DPWA) Z pinch is a highly efficient radiation source with unique implosion dynamics and precursor formations. The inductively divided current successively ablates the wires and injects the material to the interior of the array. Three uniquely imploding DPWA load types were identified and classified according to the critical load parameter: low, intermediate, or high aspect ratio. Radiation pulse shaping was obtained from secondary precursors: off-axis mass carrying high current densities during the implosion phase. Time-gated EUV spectroscopy of off-axis mass accumulations is used to assess a 60 eV electron temperature prior to the implosion phase. These structures are shown to form by a different mechanism than the secondary precursors. High yields, compact size, and shaped radiation pulses merit further consideration of the DPWA as a candidate for inertial confinement fusion research.

Anisotropy of radiation emitted from planar wire arrays

The planar wire array (PWA) is a promising load for new multi-source inertial confinement fusion (ICF) hohlraums [B. Jones et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 125001 (2010)]. The hohlraum radiation symmetry is an important issue for ICF. It was found that extreme ultraviolet and sub-keV photon emission from PWAs may have considerable anisotropy in the load azimuthal plane. This experimental result is obtained on the UNR 1–1.7 MA Zebra generator. The time-dependent anisotropy effect is detected. This feature is studied in 2D numerical simulations and can be explained by initial anisotropy of implosion of those non-cylindrical loads radiating essentially as surface sources in sub-keV quanta and also by radiation absorption in cold magnetized plasma tails forming in the direction of magnetic compression.

Study of Electron Beams in Wire Arrays at 1-MA

We analyzed the characteristics of energetic electron beams produced by implosions of multiplanar wire arrays, nested cylindrical wire arrays (NCWAs), and compact cylindrical wire arrays (CCWAs), as well as X-pinches. In this paper, filtered soft and hard X-ray (HXR) diodes, spatially resolved time-integrated and time-gated spatially integrated LiF crystal spectrometers, and a Faraday cup were fielded to study the time evolution and spatial distribution of electron beams. Observed Faraday cup signals (electron cutoff energy, with EB from 42 to 250 keV) always coincide with HXR signals, and their pulse shape is similar to the shape of HXR pulses. The dependence of the total energy of the electron beam (Eb) on the wire material and the geometry of the wire-array load was studied. The electron-beam energies increase with the atomic number of the wire material. Aluminum tracer wires were found to decrease Eb in loads with Cu, Mo, or W wires. The intensity of cold K- and L-shell time-gated spectra correlate with corresponding amplitudes of HXR peaks and Faraday cup signals. The timing of correlation between the onset of energetic electron beams, HXR generation, and appearance of trailing mass for NCWAs and CCWAs is presented and discussed.

Z

University-scale Z-pinch devices are able to produce plasmas with a broad range of sizes, temperatures, densities, their gradients, and opacity properties. Radiative properties of such plasmas depend on material, mass, and configuration of the wire array loads. Experiments with two different types of loads, double planar wire arrays (DPWA) and X-pinches, performed on the 1 MA Zebra generator at UNR are analyzed. X-pinches are made from Stainless Steel (69% Fe, 20% Cr, and 9% Ni) wires. Combined DPWAs consist of one plane from SS wires and another plane from Alumel (95% Ni, 2% Al, 2% Si) wires. The main focus of this work is on the analysis of plasma jets at the early phase of plasma formation and the K-and L-shell radiation generation at the implosion and stagnation phases in experiments with the two aforementioned wire loads. The relevant theoretical tools that guide the data analysis include non-LTE collisional-radiative and wire ablation dynamics models. The astrophysical relevance of the plasma jets as well as of spectroscopic and imaging studies are demonstrated.