Analysis of fusion fuel conditions and instability development in shocklessly compressed MagLIF implosion simulations

Shipley, G. A.; Ruiz, D. E.; Porwitzky, A. J.

doi:10.1063/5.0187551

Analysis of fusion fuel conditions and instability development in shocklessly compressed MagLIF implosion simulations

Journal Article · Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2024 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0187551· OSTI ID:2567684

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Magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) implosions on the Z accelerator have almost exclusively been driven by ∼100-ns rise time current pulses. The rise time is selected to be as short as achievable on Z partially to minimize the time during which deleterious implosion instabilities can develop. Modifying the shape of the current pulse could provide benefits for MagLIF, including more efficient compression of the fusion fuel and the magnetic flux inside the liner cavity. Quasi-isentropic compression of the liner prevents formation of shocks in the liner material and reduces the amount of entropy generation within the liner. This allows for more final compression of the liner and fuel assembly. We present results from one-dimensional (1D) radiation-magnetohydrodynamic (rad-MHD) simulations comparing thermonuclear fuel conditions in MagLIF implosions driven with two different current pulses: a ∼100-ns rise time, ∼21.5 MA peak current “short pulse” and a ∼200-ns rise time, ∼21.5 MA peak current “shockless” pulse. We also quantify and compare the instability development in three-dimensional (3D) MHD implosion simulations driven by these two different pulse shapes. Our 1D simulations indicate that the shocklessly compressed MagLIF implosion performs better than the short pulse driven implosion with a >50% higher thermonuclear neutron yield, and 3D simulations indicate comparable implosion instability development, suggesting that pulse shaping could enable improvements to MagLIF performance on Z without compromising implosion stability.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 2567684

Journal Information:: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 31; ISSN 1070-664X

Publisher:: American Institute of PhysicsCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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