New method of initiating multi-megampere, multi-megajoule plasma focus discharges using magnetized plasma flow switches
- Phillips Lab., Kirtland AFB, NM (United States). High Energy Sources Div.
- Maxwell Labs., Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States); and others
Plasma focus discharges have historically produced copious neutrons or x-rays at moderate energies and with high efficiency. The optimized output scaling for both neutrons and x-rays has followed an approximate power law in current up to currents of order one megampere and stored capacitor energy of order one megajoule. However, this favorable scaling has not successfully been extended beyond these levels. Conventional plasma foci are initiated by a high-current, low-inductance discharge through a static gas prefill which lifts off an insulator. One serious problem for high-energy operation is restrike across the initiation insulator, caused by a combination of ultraviolet photons from the plasma current sheath and rather large inductive voltages during the subsequent run-down and implosion phases. The result is current shunting and loss of drive pressure for the pinch. An alternative scheme involves a plasma flow switch (PFS), in which a conducting plasma armature convects toroidal magnetic flux to a downstream load. The authors describe a novel dense plasma focus experiment at the Shiva Star facility which uses a compact toroid (CT) magnetized plasma flow switch to initiate the focus implosion downstream from a shielded vacuum insulator.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC (United States); Defense Nuclear Agency, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 445566
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960634-; TRN: 97:005188
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 IEEE international conference on plasma science, Boston, MA (United States), 3-5 Jun 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of IEEE conference record -- Abstracts: 1996 IEEE international conference on plasma science; PB: 324 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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