Diagnosing Field Strengths and Plasma Conditions in Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines Using Active Dopant Spectroscopy
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Experimental validation data is needed to inform simulations of large pulsed power devices which are in development to understand and improve existing accelerators and inform future pulsed power capabilities. Using current spectroscopic techniques on the Z-machine, we have been unable to reliably diagnose plasma conditions and electric and magnetic fields within power flow regions. Laser ablation of a material produces a low density plasma, resulting in narrow spectroscopic line widths. By introducing a laser ablated plasma to the anode cathode gap of the Mykonos accelerator, we can monitor how the line shapes change due the current pulse by comparing these line shapes to spectral measurements taken without power flow. In this report we show several examples of measurements conducted on Mykonos on various dopant materials. We also show a negligible effect on power flow due to the presence of the ablation plasma for a range of parameters.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
- OSTI ID:
- 1673820
- Report Number(s):
- SAND--2020-10723; 691386
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Power flow in magnetically insulated transmission lines with ion backscatter effects
Current Loss in 0.1 - 100 Terawatt Vacuum Transmission Lines: Experiments and Simulations