Recent ACE 4 Z-pinch experiments: Long implosion time argon loads, uniform fill versus annular shell distributions and the Rayleigh-Taylor instability problem

Journal Article · Mon May 05 04:00:00 EDT 1997 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.53816· OSTI ID:21172291

Coleman, P; Rauch, J; Rix, W; Thompson, J; Wilson, R ^[1]

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1. Maxwell Technologies, San Diego, California 92123 (United States)

Hammer (1996) and Velikovich (1996) have discussed ways to mitigate the growth of the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability in z-pinch (PRS) implosions. They predict that initial mass distributions more complex than a simple annular shell will reduce instability development. Sanford (1996) reported experimental data showing a benefit for a uniform mass distribution compared to a shell; those tests used ''conventional'' load radii of 2.25 and 1.25 cm respectively, and implosion times under 100 ns. However, the instability problem is expected to grow exponentially as the implosion time, or alternatively the initial radius, increases. Thus we made a comparison of a uniform fill load with a shell but at larger radii, 3.6 and 2.5 cm respectively, and at implosion times well above 100 ns. We see nearly a factor of 10X improvement in peak K-shell power and 2X increase in K-shell yield for the uniform mass load. Hence it appears that suitable tailoring of the imploding mass distribution can significantly limit the instability growth.

• OSTI ID: 21172291
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 409; ISSN APCPCS; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ARGON
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
IMPLOSIONS
K SHELL
LINEAR Z PINCH DEVICES
LONGITUDINAL PINCH
MASS DISTRIBUTION
PLASMA PRODUCTION
RAYLEIGH-TAYLOR INSTABILITY
YIELDS