Laser-Driven Hydrodynamic Experiments in the Turbulent Plasma Regime: from OMEGA to NIF
There is a great deal of interest in studying the evolution of hydrodynamic phenomena in high energy density plasmas that have transitioned beyond the initial phases of instability into a fully developed turbulent state. Motivation for this study arises both in fusion plasmas as well as in numerous astrophysical applications where the understanding of turbulent mixing is essential. Double-shell ignition targets, for example, are subject to large growth of short wavelength perturbations on both surfaces of the high-Z inner shell. These perturbations, initiated by Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, can transition to a turbulent state and will lead to deleterious mixing of the cooler shell material with the hot burning fuel. In astrophysical plasmas, due to the extremely large scale, turbulent hydrodynamic mixing is also of widespread interest. The radial mixing that occurs in the explosion phase of core-collapse supernovae is an example that has received much attention in recent years and yet remains only poorly understood. In all of these cases, numerical simulation of the flow field is very difficult due to the large Reynolds number and corresponding wide range of spatial scales characterizing the plasma. Laboratory experiments on high energy density facilities that can access this regime are therefore of great interest. Experiments exploring the transition to turbulence that are currently being conducted on the Omega laser will be described. We will also discuss experiments being planned for the initial commissioning phases of the NIF as well as the enhanced experimental parameter space that will become available, as additional quads are made operational.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15005093
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-155300; TRN: US0401556
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Inertial Fusion Sciences and Applications, Monterey, CA (US), 09/07/2003--09/12/2003; Other Information: PBD: 25 Aug 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Observation of a Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability in a High-Energy-Density Plasma on the Omega Laser
Turbulent mixing and transition criteria of flows induced by hydrodynamic instabilities