On the structure of plasma liners for plasma jet induced magnetoinertial fusion
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794 (United States)
- General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States)
The internal structure and self-collapse properties of plasma liners, formed by the merger of argon plasma jets, have been studied via 3-dimensional numerical simulations using the FronTier code. We have shown that the jets merger process is accomplished through a cascade of oblique shock waves that heat the liner and reduce its Mach number. Oblique shock waves and the adiabatic compression heating have led to the 10 times reduction of the self-collapse pressure of a 3-dimensional argon liner compared to a spherically symmetric liner with the same pressure and density profiles at the merging radius. We have also observed a factor of 10 variations of pressure and density in the leading edge of the liner along spherical surfaces close to the interaction with potential plasma targets. Such a non-uniformity of imploding plasma liners presents problems for the stability of targets during compression.
- OSTI ID:
- 22113454
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 20, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2013 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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