Long implosion time tungsten wire array Z pinches on the Saturn generator

Journal Article · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2000 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.874146· OSTI ID:20216870

Douglas, M R ^[1]; Deeney, C ^[1]; Spielman, R B ^[1]; Coverdale, C A ^[1]; Roderick, N F ^[2]; Haines, M G ^[3]

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1. Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
2. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 (United States)
3. The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, (United Kingdom)

Recent success on the Saturn [C. Deeney et al., Phys. Rev. E 56, 5945 (1997)] and Z [R. B. Spielman et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 2105 (1998)] accelerators at Sandia National Laboratories have demonstrated the ability to scale Z-pinch parameters to increasingly larger current pulsed power facilities. Next generation machines will require even larger currents (>20 MA), placing further demands on pulsed power technology. To this end, experiments have been carried out on Saturn operating in a long pulse mode, investigating the potential of lower voltages and longer implosion times while still maintaining pinch fidelity. High wire number, 25 mm diam tungsten arrays were imploded with implosion times ranging from 130 to 240 ns. The results were comparable to those observed in the Saturn short pulse mode, with rise times on the order of 4.5-6.5 ns. Experimental data will be presented, along with two-dimensional radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations used to explain and reproduce the experiment. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.

• OSTI ID: 20216870
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 7; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPLODING WIRES
IMPLOSIONS
LINEAR Z PINCH DEVICES
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
PLASMA PRODUCTION
PLASMA SIMULATION
THEORETICAL DATA
TUNGSTEN
X-RAY SOURCES