DOE OSTI2011
Collection of solid debris from the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is being developed both as a diagnostic tool and as a means for measuring nuclear reaction cross sections relevant to the Stockpile Stewardship Program and nuclear astrophysics. The concept is straightforward; following a NIF shot, the debris that is produced as a result of the capsule and hohlraum explosion would be collected and subsequently extracted from the chamber. The number of nuclear activations that occurred in the capsule would then be measured through a combination of radiation detection and radiochemical processing followed by mass spectrometry. Development of the catcher is challenging due to the complex environment of the NIF target chamber. The collector surface is first exposed to a large photon flux, followed by the debris wind that is produced. The material used in the catcher must be mechanically strong in order to withstand the large amount of energy it is exposed to, as well as be chemically compatible with the form and composition of the debris. In addition, the location of the catcher is equally important. If it is positioned too close to the center of the target chamber, it will be significantly ablated, which could interfere with the ability of the debris to reach the surface and stick. If it is too far away, the fraction of the debris cloud collected will be too small to result in a statistically significant measurement. Material, geometric configuration, and location must all be tested in order to design the optimal debris collection system for NIF. One of the first ideas regarding solid debris collection at NIF was to use the disposable debris shields (DDS), which are fielded over the final optics assemblies (FOA) 7 m away from the center of the target chamber. The DDS are meant to be replaced after a certain number of shots, and if the shields could be subsequently analyzed after removal, it would serve as a mechanism for fielding a relatively large collection area through the use of a part meant to be replaced regularly. The solid angle covered by one of the shields is roughly 10 -4 of 4π. If several shields were analyzed at once, it would increase the solid angle of the collection area accordingly. The glass shields consist of ammonia hardened silica with a sol gel coating and kapton tape around the edge. The square sheets are 14-inch on each side. The original shields were 1 mm thick, but it was determined that a thicker shield (3.3 mm) was more effective in preventing debris from reaching the FOA. The Solid Radchem group received two sets of DDS as part of our evaluation of the potential use of the DDS as solid debris collectors. The first set consisted of two 3.3 mm shields, one each from the top and bottom of the chamber (the '3mm set'). The second set consisted of four 1mm shields, one from the top of the chamber and the other three from the bottom (the 'IFSA set'). For each set, the shields were cut into smaller subsamples, which were then imaged using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) followed by chemical leaching and mass spectrometry. The purpose was to evaluate both the quantity and identity of the debris that was present on the DDS surfaces, and to determine if any of the capsule debris was reaching the chamber walls. In addition, potential enhancement due to gravity in the chamber was evaluated by directly comparing shields fielded in the top and bottom of the chamber. Based on the results, the use of the DDS as debris collectors would be evaluated. The results from both sets were presented to the DDS Working Group. The slides are attached to this document. The 3mm set results are presented first, followed by the results from the IFSA set. In both cases it was determined that a small fraction of the overall debris field was collected on the DDS. This means that the debris that is formed during a NIF shot is condensing out of the plasma and depositing on surfaces closer to the target chamber center, or else it is simply falling to the bottom of the chamber. In either case, it was determined that using the DDS, or fielding a debris collector at the chamber wall, was not feasible for solid debris collection at NIF due to the small amount of debris that had been collected. In addition, since the glass shields suffered quite a bit of damage from particles impacting the surface, glass was ruled out as a collection medium.
38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗