Z-pinch platforms constitute a promising pathway to fusion energy research. Here, we present a one-dimensional numerical study of the staged Z-pinch (SZP) concept using the FLASH and MACH2 codes. We discuss the verification of the codes using two analytical benchmarks that include Z-pinch-relevant physics, building confidence on the codes' ability to model such experiments. Then, FLASH is used to simulate two different SZP configurations: a xenon gas-puff liner (SZP1*) and a silver solid liner (SZP2). The SZP2 results are compared against previously published MACH2 results, and a new code-to-code comparison on SZP1* is presented. Using an ideal equation of state and analytical transport coefficients, FLASH yields a fuel convergence ratio (CR) of approximately 39 and a mass-averaged fuel ion temperature slightly below 1 keV for the SZP2 scheme, significantly lower than the full-physics MACH2 prediction. For the new SZP1* configuration, full-physics FLASH simulations furnish large and inherently unstable CRs (>300) but achieve fuel ion temperatures of many kilo-electron volts. While MACH2 also predicts high temperatures, the fuel stagnates at a smaller CR. The integrated code-to-code comparison reveals how magnetic insulation, heat conduction, and radiation transport affect platform performance and the feasibility of the SZP concept.
Hansen, E. C., et al. "Feasibility and performance of the staged Z-pinch: A one-dimensional study with <i>FLASH</i> and <i>MACH2</i>." Physics of Plasmas, vol. 31, no. 4, Apr. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0187342
Hansen, E. C., Garcia-Rubio, F., Adams, M. B. P., Fatenejad, M., Moczulski, K., Ney, P., Rahman, H. U., Reyes, A. C., Ruskov, E., Tranchant, V., & Tzeferacos, P. (2024). Feasibility and performance of the staged Z-pinch: A one-dimensional study with <i>FLASH</i> and <i>MACH2</i>. Physics of Plasmas, 31(4). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0187342
Hansen, E. C., Garcia-Rubio, F., Adams, M. B. P., et al., "Feasibility and performance of the staged Z-pinch: A one-dimensional study with <i>FLASH</i> and <i>MACH2</i>," Physics of Plasmas 31, no. 4 (2024), https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0187342
@article{osti_2567555,
author = {Hansen, E. C. and Garcia-Rubio, F. and Adams, M. B. P. and Fatenejad, M. and Moczulski, K. and Ney, P. and Rahman, H. U. and Reyes, A. C. and Ruskov, E. and Tranchant, V. and others},
title = {Feasibility and performance of the staged Z-pinch: A one-dimensional study with <i>FLASH</i> and <i>MACH2</i>},
annote = {Z-pinch platforms constitute a promising pathway to fusion energy research. Here, we present a one-dimensional numerical study of the staged Z-pinch (SZP) concept using the FLASH and MACH2 codes. We discuss the verification of the codes using two analytical benchmarks that include Z-pinch-relevant physics, building confidence on the codes' ability to model such experiments. Then, FLASH is used to simulate two different SZP configurations: a xenon gas-puff liner (SZP1*) and a silver solid liner (SZP2). The SZP2 results are compared against previously published MACH2 results, and a new code-to-code comparison on SZP1* is presented. Using an ideal equation of state and analytical transport coefficients, FLASH yields a fuel convergence ratio (CR) of approximately 39 and a mass-averaged fuel ion temperature slightly below 1 keV for the SZP2 scheme, significantly lower than the full-physics MACH2 prediction. For the new SZP1* configuration, full-physics FLASH simulations furnish large and inherently unstable CRs (>300) but achieve fuel ion temperatures of many kilo-electron volts. While MACH2 also predicts high temperatures, the fuel stagnates at a smaller CR. The integrated code-to-code comparison reveals how magnetic insulation, heat conduction, and radiation transport affect platform performance and the feasibility of the SZP concept.},
doi = {10.1063/5.0187342},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2567555},
journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
issn = {ISSN 1070-664X},
number = {4},
volume = {31},
place = {United States},
publisher = {American Institute of Physics},
year = {2024},
month = {04}}
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); University of Rochester, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); USDOE; USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)
THE PHYSICS OF PLASMA-DRIVEN ACCELERATORS AND ACCELERATOR-DRIVEN FUSION: The Proceedings of Norman Rostoker Memorial Symposium, AIP Conference Proceedingshttps://doi.org/10.1063/1.4944028