Fully kinetic simulations of megajoule-scale dense plasma focus

Journal Article · Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4897192· OSTI ID:22300238

Schmidt, A.; Link, A.; Tang, V.; Halvorson, C.; May, M. ^[1]; Welch, D. ^[2]; Meehan, B. T.; Hagen, E. C. ^[3]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore California 94550 (United States)
2. Voss Scientific, LLC, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108 (United States)
3. National Security Technologies, LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada 89030 (United States)

Dense plasma focus (DPF) Z-pinch devices are sources of copious high energy electrons and ions, x-rays, and neutrons. Megajoule-scale DPFs can generate 10{sup 12} neutrons per pulse in deuterium gas through a combination of thermonuclear and beam-target fusion. However, the details of the neutron production are not fully understood and past optimization efforts of these devices have been largely empirical. Previously, we reported on the first fully kinetic simulations of a kilojoule-scale DPF and demonstrated that both kinetic ions and kinetic electrons are needed to reproduce experimentally observed features, such as charged-particle beam formation and anomalous resistivity. Here, we present the first fully kinetic simulation of a MegaJoule DPF, with predicted ion and neutron spectra, neutron anisotropy, neutron spot size, and time history of neutron production. The total yield predicted by the simulation is in agreement with measured values, validating the kinetic model in a second energy regime.

• OSTI ID: 22300238
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BEAMS
DEUTERIUM
ELECTRONS
IONS
NEUTRON SPECTRA
NEUTRONS
OPTIMIZATION
PINCH DEVICES
PLASMA FOCUS
SIMULATION
X RADIATION