S. N. Polukhin

A simple criterion for the snowplowing efficiency of the working gas in a kJ plasma focus

Correlation between the appearance of the second peculiarity in the current-derivative signal and the drop in the neutron yield is observed experimentally in a plasma focus discharge. The time-resolved photographs of the current sheath lead to the conclusion that, at the instant of maximum compression, the main current is shunted by the second current sheath, which is formed from the rest of the gas after the passage of the first one. It is also suggested that the generation of the second current sheath is a consequence of two competing processes: filamentation of the first sheath, which thus becomes transparent to the working gas, and magnetization of the residual plasma by the field of the main discharge current.

Saturation of the neutron yield from megajoule plasma focus facilities

A relation is investigated between the saturation of the neutron yield from megajoule plasma focus facilities and that of the total discharge current. An analytic formula for the neutron yield as a function of the facility energy is derived by simple calculations of the discharge circuit and is verified by computer simulations of the dynamics of the current sheath. The dependence obtained differs from the generally accepted one but agrees well with experimental data.

Laser-optical measurements of the velocities of the plasma jets formed from different gases in a kilojoule-range plasma focus facility

The velocities of the plasma jets formed from Ne, N2, Ar, and Xe gases in plasma focus facilities were determined by means of laser-optical shadowgraphy of the shock waves generated at the jet leading edge. In spite of the almost tenfold ratio between the atomic weights of these gases, the outflow velocities of the plasma jets formed in experiments with these gases differ by less than twice, in the range of (0.7–1.1) × 107 cm/s under similar discharge conditions. The energies of the jet ions were found to vary from 0.7 keV for nitrogen to 4 keV for xenon.

Magnetic and neutron measurements on the PF-400 plasma focus facility

Parasitic currents shunting up to one-half of the total discharge current were detected using magnetic probes on a Filippov-type plasma focus facility with a maximum total current of 1 MA and stored energy of 80 kJ. The measured time dependence of neutron emission from the discharge indicates that the parameters of the neutron pulse are closely related to those of the imploding current sheath.

Application of plasma focus installations for a study of the influence of deuterium cumulative flows on materials

In this work, as an example of an application of the plasma focus (PF) device, we study the influence on alloys of vanadium of a cumulative flow producing in the PF device. The experiment was done in a 4-kJ PF device with various gas fillings and various anode shapes. It was found that the velocity of the axial cumulative flow depends on the type of gas and is about 5.107 cm/s for deuterium and 2.107 cm/s for argon fillings of plasma focus chamber; the shape of the flow is changed from a broad conical fly for deuterium to a quasi-one-directional stream for argon. The dynamics and structure of such flows are investigated by means of laser diagnostics and an image converter camera. The experiments show that cumulative flows produce various defects in tested samples. The appearance of a large number of cracks on the surface of vanadium under the impulse influence of deuterium plasma shows that pure vanadium cannot be used for the construction of thermonuclear fusion reactors

Changes of internal properties of vanadium and structure of its surface under the effect of pulsed high-temperature deuterium plasma

The work presents experimental research of the influence of a pulse of high-temperature dense plasma on materials, which as are supposed, will be used in future thermonuclear power stations. The experiments were made on 4 kJ Plasma Focus installation. Such type of installations is capable to form pulse of axial plasma flows moving with velocity approximately 108 cm/s and plasma density is about 1018 cm−3. Pure vanadium was chosen in our researches, because it can be used as a basic element at the creation of low-activated alloys. We found that due to a pulse irradiation of vanadium by deuterium plasma, shock waves arises, which result in super-deep penetration of deuterium into a volume of the studied sample. This process is accompanied with the change of vanadium structure, the occurrence of pores in it, and changes of its mechanical properties. The break-away of vanadium particles from the backside surface of the sample and forming of craters were also observed.

Plasma-current structures of plasma focus during the current disruption

In this paper, we present the results of investigation of the plasma structures arising during the current disruption in the Dense Plasma Focus (DPF). The study was done by means of the laser-shadow and interferometry methods, accompanied with the current and X-ray measurements.

Studying the Generation Stage of a Plasma Jet in a Plasma Focus Discharge

A dense compact plasmoid generated at the pinch collapse stage is revealed in a plasma focus discharge by laser optical methods. The initial size of the plasmoid is ~1 mm, its electron density is more than 2 × 1019 cm–3, and the plasmoid propagates along the axis from the anode at an average velocity of more than 107 cm/s. A shock wave is generated in the residual argon plasma during the motion of the bunch, its density decreases to 1018 cm–3 at a distance of 3 cm from its place of generation, and the plasmoid expands by 3–5 times and almost merges together with the leading edge of the shock wave.

Observation of the ionization wave and the shock wave ahead of the plasma jet generated in the plasma focus discharge

An ionization wave travelling ahead of the shock wave of the plasma jet, propagating in residual gas (nitrogen) of the plasma focus discharge, is detected by the laser-interferometry method at the plasma focus. Radial and axial distributions of electron densities of the shock wave and plasma jet are measured.

Effect of the configuration of the discharge chamber of the plasma focus on the neutron yield

Preliminary probe experiments on the Filippov-type plasma focus with the energy E = 70 kJ and a current of about 1 MA show significant stray currents flowing near the insulator. To suppress them and optimize the discharge circuit, the main discharge chamber elements, i.e., the insulator, anode and cathode liner, were changed. As a result, a 30-fold increase in the setup neutron yield to Yn = 5· 1010 neutrons per pulse was detected.