Resistive diffusion in magnetized ICF implosions: Reduced magnetic stabilization of the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability
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Walsh, C. A. (ORCID:0000000266393543)↗
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Indirect Drive ICF Design Study for a 3 MJ NIF Enhanced Yield Capability
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Physics - Plasma physics↗
Structure of DNMT3B homo-oligomer reveals vulnerability to impairment by ICF mutations
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Gao, Linfeng↗
Assessment of ion kinetic effects in shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions using fusion burn imaging
The significance and nature of ion kinetic effects in D{sup 3}He-filled, shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions are assessed through measurements of fusion burn profiles. Over this series of experiments, the ratio of ion-ion mean free path to minimum shell radius (the Knudsen number, N{sub K}) was varied from 0.3 to 9 in order to probe hydrodynamic-like to strongly kinetic plasma conditions; as the Knudsen number increased, hydrodynamic models increasingly failed to match measured yields, while an empirically-tuned, first-step model of ion kinetic effects better captured the observed yield trends [Rosenberg et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 185001 (2014)]. Here, spatially resolved measurements of the fusion burn are used to examine kinetic ion transport effects in greater detail, adding an additional dimension of understanding that goes beyond zero-dimensional integrated quantities to one-dimensional profiles. In agreement with the previous findings, a comparison of measured and simulated burn profiles shows that models including ion transport effects are able to better match the experimental results. In implosions characterized by large Knudsen numbers (N{sub K} ∼ 3), the fusion burn profiles predicted by hydrodynamics simulations that exclude ion mean free path effects are peaked far from the origin, in stark disagreement with the experimentally observed profiles, which are centrally peaked. In contrast, a hydrodynamics simulation that includes a model of ion diffusion is able to qualitatively match the measured profile shapes. Therefore, ion diffusion or diffusion-like processes are identified as a plausible explanation of the observed trends, though further refinement of the models is needed for a more complete and quantitative understanding of ion kinetic effects.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Effects of the P2 M-band flux asymmetry of laser-driven gold Hohlraums on the implosion of ICF ignition capsule
Low-mode asymmetries in the laser-indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion implosion experiments conducted on the National Ignition Facility [G. H. Miller et al., Nucl. Fusion 44, S228 (2004)] are deemed the main obstacles hindering further improvement of the nuclear performance of deuterium-tritium-layered capsules. The dominant seeds of these asymmetries include the P2 and P4 asymmetries of x-ray drives and P2 asymmetry introduced by the supporting “tent.” Here, we explore the effects of another possible seed that can lead to low-mode asymmetric implosions, i.e., the M-band flux asymmetry (MFA) in laser-driven cylindrical gold Hohlraums. It is shown that the M-band flux facilitates the ablation and acceleration of the shell, and that positive P2 MFAs can result in negative P2 asymmetries of hot spots and positive P2 asymmetries of shell's ρR. An oblate or toroidal hot spot, depending on the P2 amplitude of MFA, forms at stagnation. The energy loss of such a hot spot via electron thermal conduction is seriously aggravated not only due to the enlarged hot spot surface but also due to the vortices that develop and help transferring thermal energy from the hotter center to the colder margin of such a hot spot. The cliffs of nuclear performance for the two methodologies of applying MFA (i.e., symmetric flux in the presence of MFA and MFA added for symmetric soft x-ray flux) are obtained locating at 9.5% and 5.0% of P2/P0 amplitudes, respectively.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Study of the ion kinetic effects in ICF run-away burn using a quasi-1D hybrid model
Here, the loss of fuel ions in the Gamow peak and other kinetic effects related to the α particles during ignition, run-away burn, and disassembly stages of an inertial confinement fusion D-T capsule are investigated with a quasi-1D hybrid volume ignition model that includes kinetic ions, fluid electrons, Planckian radiation photons, and a metallic pusher. The fuel ion loss due to the Knudsen effect at the fuel-pusher interface is accounted for by a local-loss model by with an albedo model for ions returning from the pusher wall. The tail refilling and relaxation of the fuel ion distribution are captured with a nonlinear Fokker-Planck solver. Alpha heating of the fuel ions is modeled kinetically while simple models for finite alpha range and electron heating are used. This dynamical model is benchmarked with a 3 T hydrodynamic burn model employing similar assumptions. For an energetic pusher (~40 kJ) that compresses the fuel to an areal density of ~1.07g/cm 2 at ignition, the simulation shows that the Knudsen effect can substantially limit ion temperature rise in runaway burn. While the final yield decreases modestly from kinetic effects of the α particles, large reduction of the fuel reactivity during ignition and runaway burn may require a higher Knudsen loss rate compared to the rise time of the temperatures above ~25 keV when the broad D-T Gamow peak merges into the bulk Maxwellian distribution.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Positron radiography of ignition-relevant ICF capsules
Laser-generated positrons are evaluated as a probe source to radiograph in-flight ignition-relevant inertial confinement fusion capsules. Current ultraintense laser facilities are capable of producing 2 ×10 12 relativistic positrons in a narrow energy bandwidth and short time duration. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the unique characteristics of such positrons allow for the reconstruction of both capsule shell radius and areal density between 0.002 and 2g/cm 2 . The energy-downshifted positron spectrum and angular scattering of the source particles are sufficient to constrain the conditions of the capsule between preshot and stagnation. Here, we evaluate the effects of magnetic fields near the capsule surface using analytic estimates where it is shown that this diagnostic can tolerate line integrated field strengths of 100 T mm.
42 ENGINEERING↗
The I-Raum: A new shaped hohlraum for improved inner beam propagation in indirectly-driven ICF implosions on the National Ignition Facility
Recent work in indirectly-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility has indicated that late-time propagation of the inner cones of laser beams (23° and 30°) is impeded by the growth of a “bubble” of hohlraum wall material (Au or depleted uranium), which is initiated by and is located at the location where the higher-intensity outer beams (44° and 50°) hit the hohlraum wall. The absorption of the inner cone beams by this “bubble” reduces the laser energy reaching the hohlraum equator at late time driving an oblate or pancaked implosion, which limits implosion performance. In this article, we present the design of a new shaped hohlraum designed specifically to reduce the impact of this bubble by adding a recessed pocket at the location where the outer cones hit the hohlraum wall. This recessed pocket displaces the bubble radially outward, reducing the inward penetration of the bubble at all times throughout the implosion and increasing the time for inner beam propagation by approximately 1 ns. This increased laser propagation time allows one to drive a larger capsule, which absorbs more energy and is predicted to improve implosion performance. The new design is based on a recent National Ignition Facility shot, N170601, which produced a record neutron yield. The expansion rate and absorption of laser energy by the bubble is quantified for both cylindrical and shaped hohlraums, and the predicted performance is compared.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Hydrodynamic instabilities seeded by the X-ray shadow of ICF capsule fill-tubes [X-ray shadow imprint of hydrodynamic instabilities seeded by the fill-tube]
During the first few hundred picoseconds of indirect drive for inertial confinement fusion on the National Ignition Facility, x-ray spots formed on the hohlraum wall when the drive beams cast shadows of the fuel fill-tube on the capsule surface. Differential ablation at the shadow boundaries seeds perturbations which are hydrodynamically unstable under subsequent acceleration and can grow to impact capsule performance. Furthermore, we have characterized this shadow imprint mechanism and demonstrated two techniques to mitigate against it using (i) a reduced diameter fuel fill-tube, and (ii) a pre-pulse to blow down the fill-tube before the shadow forming x-ray spots from the main outer drive beams develop.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
X-ray streaked refraction enhanced radiography for inferring inflight density gradients in ICF capsule implosions
In the quest for reaching ignition of deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel capsule implosions, experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have shown lower final fuel areal densities than simulated. Possible explanations for reduced compression are higher preheat that can increase the ablator-DT ice density jump and induce mix at that interface or reverberating shocks. We are hence developing x-ray Refraction Enhanced Radiography (RER) to infer the inflight density profiles in layered fuel capsule implosions. We use a 5 μm slit backlit by a Ni 7.8 keV He-α NIF laser driven x-ray source positioned at 20 mm from the capsule to cast refracted images of the inflight capsule onto a streak camera in a high magnification (M ~ 60×) setup. Our first experiments have validated our setup that recorded a streaked x-ray fringe pattern from an undriven high density carbon (HDC) capsule consistent with ray tracing calculations at the required ~6 μm and 25 ps resolution. Streaked RER was then applied to inflight layered HDC capsule implosions using a hydrogen-tritium fuel mix rather than DT to reduce neutron yields and associated backgrounds. The first RER of an imploding capsule revealed strong features associated with the ablation front and ice-ablator interface that are not visible in standard absorption radiographs.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Instability growth seeded by DT density perturbations in ICF capsules
Identifying and controlling hydrodynamic instabilities is vital to inertial confinement fusion. We use simulations to examine the growth of several defects seeded in the deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel layer. First, we examine the growth of bulk density fluctuations in a solid DT ice layer. These density perturbations grow with amplitudes similar to surface defects, however the high-mode ( m > 40) growth structures differ. We also consider the wetted foam capsule design, where density perturbations can be seeded by foam inhomogeneity. Simulations show that foam-seeded perturbations grow similarly to pure DT density seeds at low modes ( m < 40), but at higher modes, the foam seeds grow significantly more. Next, we simulate the growth of two common multimode ice defects, grooves, and bubbles, and find that bubbles are significantly less harmful than grooves of similar width. Lastly, we explore shimming the ablator to counteract surface roughness and show that instability growth from low-mode roughness can be effectively mitigated.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Progress toward a self-consistent set of 1D ignition capsule metrics in ICF
One-dimensional metrics can be considered an upper bound on the performance that can be achieved given an implosion with an imploding mass Mimp and a given adiabat α, driven to an implosion velocity V by a specified ablation pressure Pa for single shell capsules with low-opacity ablators. The quantitative value of an ignition metric depends on the definition of ignition. We review the choices that have been made by various authors before settling on a definition based on yield amplification of 30 where yield amplification is the ratio of the yield from an implosion that includes the alpha particle and neutron deposition relative to the yield obtained from PdV work alone. We then derive improved 1D ignition metrics for radiation-driven inertial confinement fusion targets that span a wide range of drive pressures, adiabats, and scales. This includes emphasizing the importance of the total imploding mass and kinetic energy inside the ablation front, including the remaining ablator mass and kinetic energy, on the 1D ignition metrics. We have also explicitly included the sensitivity to ablation pressure driving the implosion, as well as the sensitivity to the coupling efficiency between the total incoming kinetic energy and the hot spot. For implosions in which the remaining ablator mass contributes to the total stagnated mass, we have developed an approach based on defining an effective implosion adiabat which incorporates the properties and the mass of the stagnated ablator as well as the cold DT fuel. We have added a dependence on total ρr to account for the fact that the time available for self-heating increases as the total ρr increases. This extends previous work in that the value of the product of stagnation pressure times burn width required for ignition depends on the total ρr as well as on the fuel ion temperature. Additionally, we show that ignition metrics derived from a requirement on the product of the hotspot ρr and the hot spot temperature are equivalent to ignition metrics derived from a requirement on the product of stagnation pressure and burn width. Further, we discuss those ignition metrics, developed as metrics for the underlying hydrodynamics in the absence of alpha heating, which can be used when alpha heating is present.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Mixing in ICF implosions on the National Ignition Facility caused by the fill-tube
The micrometer-scale tube that fills capsules with thermonuclear fuel in inertial confinement fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility is also one of the implosion's main degradation sources. It seeds a perturbation that injects the ablator material into the center, radiating away some of the hot-spot energy. This paper discusses how the perturbation arises in experiments using high-density carbon ablators and how the ablator mix interacts once it enters the hot-spot. Both modeling and experiments show an in-flight areal-density perturbation and localized x-ray emission at stagnation from the fill-tube. Simulations suggest that the fill-tube is degrading an otherwise 1D implosion by ~2×, but when other degradation sources are present, the yield reduction is closer to 20%. Characteristics of the fill-tube assembly, such as the through-hole size and the glue mass, alter the dynamics and magnitude of the degradation. Overall, these aspects point the way toward improvements in the design, some of which (smaller diameter fill-tube) have already shown improvements.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Understanding ICF hohlraums using NIF gated laser-entrance-hole images
The newly available ns-gated laser-entrance-hole (LEH) imager on the National Ignition Facility provides routine, non-perturbative measurements of the x-ray emission from laser-heated plasmas inside the hohlraum as viewed at 19° to the hohlraum axis through one of its LEHs. Multiple images are acquired for a series of times and filter-selected x-ray energy bands within a single shot. The images provide time dependent data on phenomena including the effective radius of the LEH, the length of the gold-plasma “bubble” evolving off the interior wall surface heated by the outer beams, the evolving radius of the x-ray heated hohlraum wall, and the radius of the ablation front of the fusion capsule. Here, these measurements are explained and illustrated with sample data. These techniques are then applied to understand hohlraum behavior as a function of gas fill. For hohlraums with helium gas fill densities of 0.15 to 0.30 mg/cm 3 , synthetic images computed from simulations agree well with experimental gated LEH images when an inhibited heat transport model [Jones et al., Phys. Plasmas 24, 056312 (2017)] is used. This model can be adjusted to reproduce the expansion rate of the laser-heated plasma bubble in such a way as to improve agreement with the images. At the higher 0.6 mg/cc gas fill, the experimental images show more pronounced 3D features, resulting in slightly less good agreement with the 2D simulations.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Shock-driven kinetic and diffusive mix in high-Z pusher ICF designs
Revolver and Double Shell Inertial Confinement Fusion capsule designs hope to achieve a robust volumetric thermonuclear burn via the use of a high-Z pusher shell filled with a cryogenic D–T fuel. Unfortunately, mix of the pusher material into the fuel (gas) may adversely impact the burn performance. Hydrodynamic instability of the metal/gas interface as the mix source is an obvious concern, but 1D effects may also be detrimental. Such effects include plasma diffusion at material interfaces, which has been the subject of numerous theoretical, computational, and experimental investigations. However, other 1D mix mechanisms may exist, which have yet to be thoroughly explored. In particular, plasma kinetic effects may drive the mix when a shock breaks out of the metal/gas interface. Using the state-of-the-art, hybrid (kinetic-ion/fluid electron), multi-ion Vlasov–Fokker–Planck code, iFP, we show herein that shock-driven kinetic effects can reconfigure the interface and the interfacial width subsequently grows diffusively. Finally, we consider any implications for high-Z pusher designs.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Radiation driven Hohlraum using 2 ω for ICF implosions at the NIF
Radiation flux symmetry in laser-irradiated Hohlraum environments is difficult to model and control and relies on the details of plasma evolution and laser energy deposition in the harsh plasma-filled Hohlraum over the duration of the laser pulse. This study presents a conceptual design and assesses the feasibility of using lasers to create a radiation drive where the implosion symmetry relies mainly on radiation transport. In this design, the ends of a capsule containing Hohlraum are irradiated by drive laser beams that are shielded from the view of the capsule. This configuration enables the use of frequency doubled light that has a higher power and energy threshold for the current capability of NIF, up to 670 TW and ∼3.5 MJ. We estimate, using VISRAD benchmarked against HYDRA calculations, that the same drive conditions that are currently being achieved in hybridE experiments at the NIF 270–290 at the equator can be reached in this new geometry and large 6.4 mm diameter Hohlraums. The radiation drive asymmetries in this design can be mitigated by shimming the capsule ablator thickness or through tailoring the shape of the shielding to the laser spots.
Kritcher, A. L. (ORCID:0000000296941088)↗
Application of cross-beam energy transfer to control drive symmetry in ICF implosions in low gas fill Hohlraums at the National Ignition Facility
Cross beam energy transfer (CBET), invoked by setting a wavelength difference, Δλ, between inner and outer beam cones, can be used to increase the drive on the waist in indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Historically, hot spot symmetry control in capsule implosions in high (≥0.9 mg/cm 3 4 He) gas fill Hohlraums was enabled by substantial CBET. However, these implosion designs suffered from inflight symmetry swings, high SRS backscatter on the inner cones, and significant hot electron generation posing a threat to DT fuel preheat. Subsequent experiments in larger, low (≤0.6 mg/cm 3 4 He) gas fill Hohlraums demonstrated round implosions by varying the inner cone fraction throughout the laser drive at Δλ = 0 Å while keeping backscatter and hot electron generation very low. To enable driving larger capsules at a given Hohlraum size, additional tools for implosion symmetry control are required. With this goal in mind, here we present a detailed experimental study of using CBET in low gas fill Hohlraums near NIF's current peak power capability. We find a ~2.5× higher sensitivity of the P 2 Legendre mode with respect to Δλ changes compared to that of high gas fill designs. We attribute this observation to the fact that backscatter remains very low and that CBET remains in a linear regime, as suggested by simulations. As a result, a much smaller Δλ of order 1 Å is sufficient for sustaining implosion symmetry while keeping laser-to- Hohlraum coupling high and hot electron generation very low. While this study used plastic ablator capsules, our findings can be generalized to other ablator materials and, hence, show great promise for using wavelength detuning as a strong lever for implosion symmetry control in future low gas fill designs that require smaller case to capsule ratios in order to increase the energy coupled to the capsule.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗