skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Scaling laser preheat for MagLIF with the Z-Beamlet laser

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0029850· OSTI ID:1765779

Optimizing the performance of the Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) platform on the Z pulsed power facility requires coupling greater than 2 kJ of preheat energy to an underdense fuel in the presence of an applied axial magnetic field ranging from 10 to 30 T. Achieving the suggested optimal preheat energies has not been experimentally achieved so far. In this work, we explore the preheat design space for cryogenically cooled MagLIF targets, which represent a viable candidate for increasing preheat energies. Using 2D and 3D HYDRA MHD simulations, we first discuss the various physical effects that occur during laser preheat, such as laser energy deposition, self-focusing, and filamentation. After identifying the changes that different phase plates, gas-fill densities, and magnetic fields bring to the aforementioned physical effects, we, then, consider higher laser energies that are achievable with modest upgrades to the Z Beamlet laser. Lastly, with a 6.0-kJ upgraded laser, 3D calculations suggest that it is possible to deliver 4.25 kJ into the MagLIF fuel, resulting in an expected deuterium neutron yield of YDD ≃ 1.5 × 1014, or roughly 50 kJ of DT equivalent yield, at 20-MA current drive. This represents a 10-fold increase in the currently achieved yields for MagLIF.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
OSTI ID:
1765779
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1760047
Report Number(s):
SAND-2021-0755J; 693603; TRN: US2206269
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 28, Issue 1; ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (44)

Inhibition of turbulence in inertial-confinement-fusion hot spots by viscous dissipation journal May 2014
Experiments and multiscale simulations of laser propagation through ignition-scale plasmas journal September 2007
Bell-Plesset effects in Rayleigh-Taylor instability of finite-thickness spherical and cylindrical shells journal December 2015
Demonstration of thermonuclear conditions in magnetized liner inertial fusion experimentsa) journal May 2015
Minimizing scatter-losses during pre-heat for magneto-inertial fusion targets journal February 2018
An electron conductivity model for dense plasmas journal January 1984
Pulsed-power-driven cylindrical liner implosions of laser preheated fuel magnetized with an axial field journal May 2010
Constraining preheat energy deposition in MagLIF experiments with multi-frame shadowgraphy journal March 2019
Magnetic field impact on the laser heating in MagLIF journal May 2020
Simulation of self-generated magnetic fields in an inertial fusion hohlraum environment journal May 2017
Turbulent mixing and transition criteria of flows induced by hydrodynamic instabilities journal August 2019
An electron thermal instability in a resistive non-equilibrium fully ionised plasma journal August 1974
Intensity Limits for Propagation of 0.527 μ m Laser Beams through Large-Scale-Length Plasmas for Inertial Confinement Fusion journal March 2005
Electrothermal Instability Mitigation by Using Thick Dielectric Coatings on Magnetically Imploded Conductors journal April 2014
Thermal instability during an electrical wire explosion journal September 2008
Laser propagation measurements in long-scale-length underdense plasmas relevant to magnetized liner inertial fusion journal November 2016
A conservative approach to scaling magneto-inertial fusion concepts to larger pulsed-power drivers journal June 2020
Application of one-dimensional stagnation solutions to three-dimensional simulation of compact wire array in absence of radiation journal August 2014
Magnetised thermal self-focusing and filamentation of long-pulse lasers in plasmas relevant to magnetised ICF experiments journal September 2018
Observations of Modified Three-Dimensional Instability Structure for Imploding z -Pinch Liners that are Premagnetized with an Axial Field journal December 2013
Plasma transport coefficients in a magnetic field by direct numerical solution of the Fokker–Planck equation journal January 1986
Experimental determination of the thermal, turbulent, and rotational ion motion and magnetic field profiles in imploding plasmas journal June 2020
Design of magnetized liner inertial fusion experiments using the Z facility journal July 2014
Ideal Laser-Beam Propagation through High-Temperature Ignition Hohlraum Plasmas journal February 2007
Enhancing performance of magnetized liner inertial fusion at the Z facility journal November 2018
Diagnosing and mitigating laser preheat induced mix in MagLIF journal November 2018
Laser ionization and heating of gas targets for long‐scale‐length instability experiments journal June 1994
A semi-analytic model of magnetized liner inertial fusion journal May 2015
Simulations of electrothermal instability growth in solid aluminum rods journal May 2013
Diagnosing laser-preheated magnetized plasmas relevant to magnetized liner inertial fusion journal December 2015
Development of a cryogenically cooled platform for the Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) Program journal September 2017
Experimental Demonstration of Fusion-Relevant Conditions in Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion journal October 2014
Electrothermal instability growth in magnetically driven pulsed power liners journal September 2012
Coupling of sausage, kink, and magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in a cylindrical liner journal March 2015
A pulsed-power implementation of “Laser Gate” for increasing laser energy coupling and fusion yield in magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) journal June 2020
The effect of laser entrance hole foil thickness on MagLIF-relevant laser preheat journal November 2020
Three‐dimensional simulations of Nova high growth factor capsule implosion experiments journal May 1996
Three-dimensional modeling and hydrodynamic scaling of National Ignition Facility implosions journal May 2019
Origins and effects of mix on magnetized liner inertial fusion target performance journal January 2019
Z-Beamlet: a multikilojoule, terawatt-class laser system journal January 2005
Scaling magnetized liner inertial fusion on Z and future pulsed-power accelerators journal February 2016
Effects of residual kinetic energy on yield degradation and ion temperature asymmetries in inertial confinement fusion implosions journal May 2018
Two decades of progress in understanding and control of laser plasma instabilities in indirect drive inertial fusion journal April 2016
Rayleigh-Taylor Instabilities of a Collapsing Cylindrical Shell in a Magnetic Field journal January 1962