UCI Staged Z-Pinch

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:178267

Drie, A Van; Bystritskii, V; Moosman, B; Rahman, H U; Rostoker, N; Wessel, F J; Yur, G ^[1]

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1. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States). Physics Dept.

The UCI Staged Z-Pinch experiment is being assembled to study laboratory -scale thermonuclear fusion. The load configuration consists of an imploding-liner plasma that collapses onto a coaxial, hydrogenic-fiber target. The pulsed-power driver is a low-inductance, capacitor bank. Diagnostics include conventional x-ray imaging and spectroscopy and a nanosecond, multi-frame, nitrogen-laser system. The target fiber would be solid hydrogen or deuterium, cryogenically extruded through an orifice of 10--100 microns diameter. Initially, current flows through the outer liner and ultimately implodes on-axis, due to self-magnetic pressure. Near peak compression the current transfers to the fiber on a time scale estimated to be of the order of a few nano-seconds. Such rapid transfer of energy leads to a rapid increase in the fiber-internal energy, attaining conditions favorable for thermonuclear ignition. The implosion dynamics for this coupled system is evaluated theoretically on the basis of both flux compression and magnetic penetration models which include adiabatic, Ohmic, alpha-particle heating and radiation losses. Theoretical analysis and computer modeling suggests that fusion breakeven is possible at several MA current. This paper presents the most recent results for this new configuration.

• OSTI ID: 178267
• Report Number(s): CONF-950612--; ISBN 0-7803-2669-5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
DESIGN
ENERGY BALANCE
ENERGY LOSSES
ENERGY TRANSFER
IMPLOSIONS
LINEAR Z PINCH DEVICES
MAGNETIC COMPRESSION
PERFORMANCE
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
PLASMA HEATING
PLASMA SIMULATION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS