Engineering topics

Lerche, R A

Publications and source records attributed to Lerche, R A.

5 records

DOE OSTI2012

Neutron spectrometry - An essential tool for diagnosing implosions at the National Ignition Facility

DT neutron yield (Y{sub n}), ion temperature (T{sub i}) and down-scatter ratio (dsr) determined from measured neutron spectra are essential metrics for diagnosing the performance of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). A suite of neutron-Time-Of-Flight (nTOF) spectrometers and a Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MRS) have been implemented in different locations around the NIF target chamber, providing good implosion coverage and the redundancy required for reliable measurements of Yn, Ti and dsr. From the measured dsr value, an areal density ({rho}R) is determined from the relationship {rho}R{sub tot} (g/cm{sup 2}) = (20.4 {+-} 0.6) x dsr{sub 10-12 MeV}. The proportionality constant is determined considering implosion geometry, neutron attenuation and energy range used for the dsr measurement. To ensure high accuracy in the measurements, a series of commissioning experiments using exploding pushers have been used for in situ calibration. The spectrometers are now performing to the required accuracy, as indicated by the good agreement between the different measurements over several commissioning shots. In addition, recent data obtained with the MRS and nTOFs indicate that the implosion performance of cryogenically layered DT implosions, characterized by the experimental Ignition Threshold Factor (ITFx) which is a function of dsr (or fuel {rho}R) and Y{sub n}, has improved almost two orders of magnitude since the first shot in September, 2010.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2011

Atomic mix in directly driven inertial confinement implosions

Directly driven implosions on the Omega laser [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] have measured the presence of atomic mix using D+T neutron yield rates from plastic capsules with and without deuterated layers, and a nearly pure tritium fuel containing 0.7% deuterium. In 15, 19, and 24 {mu}m thick plastic shells, D+T neutron yields increased by factors of 86, 112, and 24 when the 1.2 {mu}m thick inner layer was deuterated. Based on adjusting a fully atomic mix modvfel to fit yield degradation in the un-deuterated capsule and applying it to the capsule with the deuterated layer, atomic mixing accounts for 40-75% of the yield degradation due to mix. For the first time, the time dependence of mixed mass was measured by the ratio of the yield rates from both types of capsules. As expected, the amount of mix grows throughout the D+T burn.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2010

The National Ignition Facility Neutron Time-of-Flight System and Its Initial Performance

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) successfully completed its first inertial confinement fusion (ICF) campaign in 2009. A neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) system was part of the nuclear diagnostics used in this campaign. The nTOF technique has been used for decades on ICF facilities to infer the ion temperature of hot deuterium (D2) and deuterium-tritium (DT) plasmas based on the temporal Doppler broadening of the primary neutron peak. Once calibrated for absolute neutron sensitivity, the nTOF detectors can be used to measure the yield with high accuracy. The NIF nTOF system is designed to measure neutron yield and ion temperature over 11 orders of magnitude (from 10^8 to 10^19), neutron bang time in DT implosions between 10^12 and 10^16, and to infer areal density for DT yields above 10^12. During the 2009 campaign, the three most sensitive neutron time-of-flight detectors were installed and used to measure the primary neutron yield and ion temperature from 25 high-convergence implosions using D2 fuel. The OMEGA yield calibration of these detectors was successfully transferred to the NIF.

Glebov, V Yu↗

DOE OSTI2010

Algorithm for precision subsample timing between Gaussian-like pulses

Moderately priced oscilloscopes available for the NIF power sensors and target diagnostics have 6 GHz bandwidths at 20-25 Gsamples/s (40 ps sample spacing). Some NIF experiments require cross timing between instruments be determined with accuracy better than 30 ps. A simple analysis algorithm for Gaussian-like pulses such as the 100-ps-wide NIF timing fiducial can achieve single-event cross-timing precision of 1 ps (1/50 of the sample spacing). The midpoint-timing algorithm is presented along with simulations that show why the technique produces good timing results. Optimum pulse width is found to be {approx}2.5 times the sample spacing. Experimental measurements demonstrate use of the technique and highlight the conditions needed to obtain optimum timing performance.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2010

National Ignition Facility neutron time-of-flight measurements (invited)

The first 3 of 18 neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) channels have been installed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The role of these detectors includes yield, temperature, and bang time measurements. This article focuses on nTOF data analysis and quality of results obtained for the first set of experiments to use all 192 NIF beams. Targets produced up to 2x10{sup 10} 2.45 MeV neutrons for initial testing of the nTOF detectors. Differences in neutron scattering at the OMEGA laser facility where the detectors were calibrated and at NIF result in different response functions at the two facilities. Monte Carlo modeling shows this difference. The nTOF performance on these early experiments indicates that the nTOF system with its full complement of detectors should perform well in future measurements of yield, temperature, and bang time.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗