Scaling of X pinches from 1 MA to 6 MA.

Technical Report · Wed Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1011205· OSTI ID:1011205

Bland, Simon Nicholas ^[1]; McBride, Ryan D; Wenger, David Franklin; Sinars, Daniel Brian; Chittenden, Jeremy Paul ^[2]; Pikuz, Sergei A ^[3]; Harding, Eric; Jennings, Christopher A; Ampleford, David J; Yu, Edmund P; Cuneo, Michael Edward; Shelkovenko, Tatiana A ^[3]; Hansen, Stephanie B

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1. Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
2. imperial College, London, United Kingdom
3. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

This final report for Project 117863 summarizes progress made toward understanding how X-pinch load designs scale to high currents. The X-pinch load geometry was conceived in 1982 as a method to study the formation and properties of bright x-ray spots in z-pinch plasmas. X-pinch plasmas driven by 0.2 MA currents were found to have source sizes of 1 micron, temperatures >1 keV, lifetimes of 10-100 ps, and densities >0.1 times solid density. These conditions are believed to result from the direct magnetic compression of matter. Physical models that capture the behavior of 0.2 MA X pinches predict more extreme parameters at currents >1 MA. This project developed load designs for up to 6 MA on the SATURN facility and attempted to measure the resulting plasma parameters. Source sizes of 5-8 microns were observed in some cases along with evidence for high temperatures (several keV) and short time durations (<500 ps).

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1011205
• Report Number(s): SAND2010-7318
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
LINEAR Z PINCH DEVICES
LOAD MANAGEMENT
MAGNETIC COMPRESSION
PLASMA
X RADIATION