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Title: Polar-direct-drive experiments on the National Ignition Facility

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4920958· OSTI ID:1182632
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  1. Lab. for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (United States)
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  3. U. S. Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (United States)
  4. General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
  5. MIT (Massachusetts Inst. of Technology), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  6. U. S. Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC 20375, (United States)

To support direct-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [G. H. Miller, E. I. Moses, and C. R. Wuest, Opt. Eng. 43, 2841 (2004)] in its indirect-drive beam configuration, the polar-direct-drive (PDD) concept [S. Skupsky et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 2763 (2004)] has been proposed. Ignition in PDD geometry requires direct-drive–specific beam smoothing, phase plates, and repointing the NIF beams toward the equator to ensure symmetric target irradiation. First experiments to study the energetics and preheat in PDD implosions at the NIF have been performed. These experiments utilize the NIF in its current configuration, including beam geometry, phase plates, and beam smoothing. Room-temperature, 2.2-mm-diam plastic shells filled with D2 gas were imploded with total drive energies ranging from ~500-750 kJ with peak powers of 120 to 180 TW and peak on-target irradiances at the initial target radius from 8 x 1014 to 1.2 x 1015 W/cm2. Results from these initial experiments are presented, including measurements of shell trajectory, implosion symmetry, and the level of hot-electron preheat in plastic and Si ablators. Experiments are simulated with the 2-D hydrodynamics code DRACO including a full 3-D ray-trace to model oblique beams, and models for nonlocal electron transport and cross-beam energy transport (CBET). These simulations indicate that CBET affects the shell symmetry and leads to a loss of energy imparted onto the shell, consistent with the experimental data.

Research Organization:
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0001857; NA0001944; AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1182632
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1228221; OSTI ID: 1249141
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-664443; PHPAEN
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 5; ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 46 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (11)

Measurements of the ablation-front trajectory and low-mode nonuniformity in direct-drive implosions using x-ray self-emission shadowgraphy journal January 2015
Inertial-confinement fusion with lasers journal May 2016
Direct drive: Simulations and results from the National Ignition Facility journal April 2016
Optimization of a high-yield, low-areal-density fusion product source at the National Ignition Facility with applications in nucleosynthesis experiments journal May 2018
Wavelength-detuning cross-beam energy transfer mitigation scheme for direct drive: Modeling and evidence from National Ignition Facility implosions journal May 2018
Development and modeling of a polar-direct-drive exploding pusher platform at the National Ignition Facility journal July 2018
Mitigation of cross-beam energy transfer in ignition-scale polar-direct-drive target designs for the National Ignition Facility journal July 2018
Spectral composition of thermonuclear particle and recoil nuclear emissions from laser fusion targets intended for modern ignition experiments journal June 2018
Compression and burning of a direct-driven thermonuclear target under the conditions of inhomogeneous heating by a multi-beam megajoule laser journal January 2019
The National Direct-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Program journal December 2018
Hydrodynamic simulations of long-scale-length plasmas for two-plasmon-decay planar-target experiments on the NIF journal May 2016

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