Nanofocus of tenth of joules and a portable plasma focus of few joules for field applications
- Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear, Casilla 188-D, Santiago (Chile)
- Center for Research and Applications in Plasma Physics and Pulsed Power, P4 (Chile)
- Universidad de Santiago (Chile)
- Chile
A repetitive pinch plasma focus that works with stored energy less than 1 J per shot has be developed at the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission. The main features of this device, repetitive Nanofocus, are 5 nF of capacity, 5 nH of inductance, 5-10 kV charging voltage, 60-250 mJ stored energy, 5-10 kA current peak, per shot. The device has been operated at 20 Hz in hydrogen and deuterium. X-ray radiographs of materials of different thickness were obtained. Neutrons were detected using a system based upon {sup 3}He proportional counter in chare integrated mode. However, the reproducibility of this miniaturized device is low and several technological subjects have to be previously solved in order to produce neutrons for periods greater than minutes. Further studies in the Nanofocus are being carried out. In addition, a device with a stored energy of a few joules is being explored. A preliminary compact, low weight (3 kg), portable PF device (25 cmx5 cmx5 cm) for field applications has been designed. This device was designed to operate with few kilovolts (10 kV or less) with a stored energy of 2 J and a repetition rate of 10 Hz without cooling. A neutron flux of the order of 10{sup 4}-10{sup 5} n/s is expected.
- OSTI ID:
- 21255343
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1088, Issue 1; Conference: 7. international conference on dense Z-pinches, Alexandria, VA (United States), 12-21 Aug 2008; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3079733; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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