Adiabat-shaping in indirect drive inertial confinement fusion

Journal Article · Fri May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2015 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4919694· OSTI ID:22410319

Baker, K. L.; Robey, H. F.; Milovich, J. L.; Jones, O. S.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Casey, D. T.; MacPhee, A. G.; Pak, A.; Celliers, P. M.; Clark, D. S.; Landen, O. L.; Peterson, J. L.; Berzak-Hopkins, L. F.; Weber, C. R.; Haan, S. W.; Döppner, T. D.; Dixit, S.; Hamza, A. V.; Jancaitis, K. S.; Kroll, J. J. ^[1] ; others, and

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

Adiabat-shaping techniques were investigated in indirect drive inertial confinement fusion experiments on the National Ignition Facility as a means to improve implosion stability, while still maintaining a low adiabat in the fuel. Adiabat-shaping was accomplished in these indirect drive experiments by altering the ratio of the picket and trough energies in the laser pulse shape, thus driving a decaying first shock in the ablator. This decaying first shock is designed to place the ablation front on a high adiabat while keeping the fuel on a low adiabat. These experiments were conducted using the keyhole experimental platform for both three and four shock laser pulses. This platform enabled direct measurement of the shock velocities driven in the glow-discharge polymer capsule and in the liquid deuterium, the surrogate fuel for a DT ignition target. The measured shock velocities and radiation drive histories are compared to previous three and four shock laser pulses. This comparison indicates that in the case of adiabat shaping the ablation front initially drives a high shock velocity, and therefore, a high shock pressure and adiabat. The shock then decays as it travels through the ablator to pressures similar to the original low-adiabat pulses when it reaches the fuel. This approach takes advantage of initial high ablation velocity, which favors stability, and high-compression, which favors high stagnation pressures.

• OSTI ID: 22410319
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 22; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ABLATION
CAPSULES
COMPRESSION
DEUTERIUM
GLOW DISCHARGES
IMPLOSIONS
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
LASER RADIATION
LASER TARGETS
PULSE SHAPERS
PULSES
SHOCK WAVES
THERMONUCLEAR FUELS
THERMONUCLEAR IGNITION