Pegasus II experiments and plans for the Atlas pulsed power facility
- and others
Atlas will be a high-energy (36 MJ stored), high-power ({approximately} 10 TW) pulsed power driver for high energy-density experiments, with an emphasis on hydrodynamics. Scheduled for completion in late 1999, Atlas is designed to produce currents in the 40-50 MA range with a quarter-cycle time of 4-5 {mu}s. It will drive implosions of heavy liners (typically 50 g) with implosion velocities exceeding 20 mm/{mu}s. Under these conditions very high pressures and magnetic fields are produced. Shock pressures in the 50 Mbar range and pressures exceeding 10 Mbar in an adiabatic compression will be possible. By performing flux compression of a seed field, axial magnetic fields in the 2000 T range may be achieved. A variety of concepts have been identified for the first experimental campaigns on Atlas. These experiments include Rayleigh-Taylor instability studies, convergent (e.g., Bell-Plesset type) instability studies, material strength experiments at very high strain and strain rate, hydrodynamic flows in 3-dimensional geometries, equation of state measurements along the hugoniot and adiabats, transport and shock propagation in dense strongly-coupled plasmas, and atomic and condensed matter studies employing ultra-high magnetic fields. Experimental configurations, associated physics issues, and diagnostic strategies are all under investigation as the design of the Atlas facility proceeds. Near-term proof-of-principle experiments employing the smaller Pegasus II capacitor bank have been identified, and several of these experiments have not been performed. This paper discusses a number of recent Pegasus II experiments and identifies several areas of research presently planned on Atlas.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 539867
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR--97-2467; CONF-9706113--; ON: DE97008964
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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