Design considerations for indirectly driven double shell capsules

Montgomery, D. S.; Daughton, W. S.; Albright, B. J.; Simakov, A. N.; Wilson, D. C.; Dodd, E. S.; Kirkpatrick, R. C.; Watt, R. G.; Gunderson, M. A.; Loomis, E. N.; Merritt, E. C.; Cardenas, T.; Amendt, P.; Milovich, J. L.; Robey, H. F.; Tipton, R. E.; Rosen, M. D.

doi:10.1063/1.5042478

Design considerations for indirectly driven double shell capsules

Journal Article · Thu Sep 27 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5042478· OSTI ID:1477699

Montgomery, D. S. ^[1]; Daughton, W. S. ^[1]; Albright, B. J. ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Kirkpatrick, R. C. ^[1]; Watt, R. G. ^[1]; Gunderson, M. A. ^[1]; Loomis, E. N. ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Amendt, P. ^[2]; Milovich, J. L. ^[2]; Robey, H. F. ^[2]; Tipton, R. E. ^[2]; Rosen, M. D. ^[2]

Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Here, double shell capsules are predicted to ignite and burn at relatively low temperature (~3 keV) via volume ignition and are a potential low-convergence path to substantial α-heating and possibly ignition at the National Ignition Facility. Double shells consist of a dense, high-Z pusher, which first shock heats and then performs work due to changes in pressure and volume (PdV work) on deuterium-tritium gas, bringing the entire fuel volume to high pressure thermonuclear conditions near implosion stagnation. The high-Z pusher is accelerated via a shock and subsequent compression of an intervening foam cushion by an ablatively driven low-Z outer shell. A broad capsule design parameter space exists due to the inherent flexibility of potential materials for the outer and inner shells and foam cushion. This is narrowed down by design physics choices and the ability to fabricate and assemble the separate pieces forming a double shell capsule. We describe the key physics for good double shell performance, the trade-offs in various design choices, and the challenges for capsule fabrication. Finally, both 1D and 2D calculations from radiation-hydrodynamic simulations are presented.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1477699

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1474202

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-18-24347

Journal Information:: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 25; ISSN 1070-664X

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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