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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 937 records · Page 52
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetized ICF implosions: Scaling of temperature and yield enhancement

This work investigates the impact of an applied magnetic field on the yield and hot-spot temperature of inertial confinement fusion implosions. A scaling of temperature amplification due to magnetization is shown to be in agreement with unperturbed two-dimensional (2D) extended-magnetohydrodynamic simulations. A perfectly spherical hot-spot with an axial magnetic field is predicted to have a maximum temperature amplification of 37%. However, elongation of the hot-spot along field lines raises this value by decreasing the hot-spot surface area along magnetic field lines. A scaling for yield amplification predicts that a magnetic field has the greatest benefit for low-temperature implosions; this is in agreement with simplified 1D simulations, but not 2D simulations where the hot-spot pressure can be significantly reduced by heat-flow anisotropy. Simulations including a P2 drive asymmetry then show that the magnetized yield is a maximum when the capsule drive corrects the hot-spot shape to be round at neutron bang time. An applied magnetic field is also found to be most beneficial for implosions that are more highly perturbed, exceeding the theoretical yield enhancement for symmetric hot-spots. Increasing the magnetic field strength past the value required to magnetize the electrons is beneficial due to the additional suppression of perturbations by magnetic tension.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurements of the imploding plasma sheath in triple-nozzle gas-puff z pinches

Gas-puff z-pinch implosions are characterized by the formation of a dense annular plasma shell, the sheath, that is driven to the axis by magnetic forces and therefore subject to the magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor instability. Here, the conditions within these sheaths are measured on the 1-MA COBRA generator at Cornell University for various gas species and initial fill densities. The gas-puff loads are initialized by a 7 cm diameter triple-nozzle gas valve assembly with concentric outer and inner annular nozzles and a central gas jet. Thomson scattering and laser interferometry provide spatially resolved flow, temperature, and electron density profiles midway through the implosion, while extreme ultraviolet pinhole cameras record the evolution of the plasma column and photoconducting diodes measure x-ray emission. Analysis of the scattering spectra includes a means of discriminating between thermal and non-thermal broadening to test for the presence of hydrodynamic turbulence. Two types of sheath profiles are observed, those with sharp discontinuities at the leading edge and those with smooth gradients. In both cases, non-thermal broadening is generally peaked at the front of the sheath and exhibits a characteristic decay length that roughly scales with the sheath ion mean free path. Here, we demonstrate that this non-thermal broadening term is inconsistent with laminar velocity gradients and is more consistent with dissipative turbulence driven by unstable plasma waves in a collisionless shock. The resulting differences in sheath profile are then set by the sheath ion collisionality in a manner consistent with recent 1D kinetic simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Investigating radiatively driven, magnetized plasmas with a university scale pulsed-power generator

We present first results from a novel experimental platform that is able to access physics relevant to topics including indirect-drive magnetized inertial confinement fusion, laser energy deposition, various topics in atomic physics, and laboratory astrophysics (for example, the penetration of B-fields into high energy density plasmas). This platform uses the x rays from a wire array Z-pinch to irradiate a silicon target, producing an outflow of ablated plasma. The ablated plasma expands into ambient, dynamically significant B-fields (∼5 T), which are supported by the current flowing through the Z-pinch. The outflows have a well-defined (quasi-1D) morphology, enabling the study of fundamental processes typically only available in more complex, integrated schemes. Experiments were fielded on the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator (1.4 MA, 240 ns rise time). On this machine, a wire array Z-pinch produces an x-ray pulse carrying a total energy of ∼15 kJ over ∼30 ns. This equates to an average brightness temperature of around 10 eV on-target.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Design of high-pressure iron Rayleigh–Taylor strength experiments for the National Ignition Facility

Iron is an important metal, scientifically and technologically. It is a common metal on Earth, forming the main constituent of the planet's inner core, where it is believed to be in solid state at high pressure and high temperature. It is also the main component of many important structural materials used in quasistatic and dynamic conditions. Laser-driven Rayleigh–Taylor instability provides a means of probing material strength at high pressure and high temperature. The unavoidable phase transition in iron at relatively low pressure induces microstructural changes that ultimately affect its strength in this extreme regime. This inevitable progression can make it difficult to design experiments and understand their results. Here, we address this challenge with the introduction of a new approach: a direct-drive design for Rayleigh–Taylor strength experiments capable of reaching up to 400 GPa over a broad range of temperatures. We use 1D and 2D hydrodynamic simulations to optimize target components and laser pulse shape to induce the phase transition and compress the iron to high pressure and high temperature. At the simulated pressure–temperature state of 350 GPa and 4000 K, we predict a ripple growth factor of 3–10 depending on the strength with minimal sensitivity to the equation of state model used. The growth factor is the primary observable, and the measured value will be compared to simulations to enable the extraction of the strength under these conditions. These experiments conducted at high-energy laser facilities will provide a unique way to study an important metal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Analysis of limited coverage effects on areal density measurements in inertial confinement fusion implosions

Accurate diagnosis of areal density ($\textit{ρR}$) is critical for the inference of performance metrics in inertial confinement fusion implosions. One potential source of error in this diagnosis is the existence of low mode perturbations in the imploding target, which lead to asymmetries in the inference of the $\textit{ρR}$ from different lines of sight. Here, the error accrued as a result of limited coverage of the sphere due to a finite number of detectors is quantified, and the development of a forward scatter measurement from the OMEGA neutron time-of-flight detectors is motivated. In this work, a method by which the 1D-equivalent 4 π-averaged $\langleρR\rangle$ can be reconstructed, if accurate mode information can be diagnosed by other means, is validated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Diffraction enhanced imaging utilizing a laser produced x-ray source

Image formation by Fresnel diffraction utilizes both absorption and phase-contrast to measure electron density profiles. The low spatial and spectral coherence requirements allow the technique to be performed with a laser-produced x-ray source coupled with a narrow slit. This makes it an excellent candidate for probing interfaces between materials at extreme conditions, which can only be generated at large-scale laser or pulsed power facilities. Here, we present the results from a proof-of-principle experiment demonstrating an effective ~2 μm laser-generated source at the OMEGA Laser Facility. This was achieved using slits of 1 × 30 μm 2 and 2 × 40 μm 2 geometry, which were milled into 30 μm thick Ta plates. Combining these slits with a vanadium He-like 5.2 keV source created a 1D imaging system capable of micrometer-scale resolution. The principal obstacles to achieving an effective 1 μm source are the slit tilt and taper—where the use of a tapered slit is necessary to increase the alignment tolerance. We demonstrate an effective source size by imaging a 2 ± 0.2 μm radius tungsten wire.

3D printing↗
DOE OSTI2022

Knock-on deuteron imaging for diagnosing the morphology of an ICF implosion at OMEGA

Knock-on deuteron imaging is a new diagnostic technique that is being implemented at the OMEGA laser facility to diagnose the morphology of an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosion. It utilizes the fact that some of the neutrons from deuterium–tritium (DT)-fusion reactions generated in the central hot-spot of an ICF implosion elastically scatter deuterons as they traverse the surrounding shell layer. The energy of these “knock-on” deuterons depends on the scattering angle, where the most energetic deuterons are forward-scattered and probe the shape of the central hot-spot, while lower-energy deuterons are made by side-scattering or slowing down in the fuel and carry information about the distribution of the dense DT-fuel layer surrounding the hot-spot. The first proof-of-concept tests have been conducted successfully. In these tests, three penumbral imagers with different views on an implosion recorded deuterons scattered from the dense shell of DT-gas-filled deuterated plastic shell implosions with prescribed offsets. Data from these experiments are presented here, along with novel analysis techniques that iteratively reconstruct the deuteron source from the data. Reconstructed hot-spot and shell radii agree with 1D hydro simulations and indicate a P1 asymmetry in the direction of the offset. A comparison of coaxial deuteron and x-ray images suggests the presence of a mix between the hot-spot and shell on the order of 15 μm. This new diagnostic capability will allow us to study asymmetries in unprecedented detail at OMEGA.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

High-resolution CH stretch spectroscopy of jet-cooled cyclopentyl radical: First insights into equilibrium structure, out-of-plane puckering, and IVR dynamics

First, high-resolution sub-Doppler infrared spectroscopic results for cyclopentyl radical (C 5 H 9 ) are reported on the α-CH stretch fundamental with suppression of spectral congestion achieved by adiabatic cooling to T rot ≈ 19(4) K in a slit jet expansion. Surprisingly, cyclopentyl radical exhibits a rotationally assignable infrared spectrum, despite 3N – 6 = 36 vibrational modes and an upper vibrational state density (ρ ≈ 40–90 #/cm –1 ) in the critical regime (ρ ≈ 100 #/cm –1 ) necessary for onset of intramolecular vibrational relaxation (IVR) dynamics. Such high-resolution data for cyclopentyl radical permit detailed fits to a rigid-rotor asymmetric top Hamiltonian, initial structural information for ground and vibrationally excited states, and opportunities for detailed comparison with theoretical predictions. Specifically, high level ab initio calculations at the coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples (CCSD(T))/ANO0, 1 level are used to calculate an out-of-plane bending potential, which reveals a C 2 symmetry double minimum 1D energy surface over a C 2v transition state. Here, the inversion barrier [V barrier ≈ 3.7(1) kcal/mol] is much larger than the effective moment of inertia for out-of-plane bending, resulting in localization of the cyclopentyl wavefunction near its C 2 symmetry equilibrium geometry and tunneling splittings for the ground state too small (<1 MHz) to be resolved under sub-Doppler slit jet conditions. The persistence of fully resolved high-resolution infrared spectroscopy for such large cyclic polyatomic radicals at high vibrational state densities suggests a “deceleration” of IVR for a cycloalkane ring topology, much as low frequency torsion/methyl rotation degrees of freedom have demonstrated a corresponding “acceleration” of IVR processes in linear hydrocarbons.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Yield degradation mechanisms for two-shock capsules evaluated through simulations

An investigation of twenty two-shock campaign indirectly driven capsules on the National Ignition Facility was conducted using the xRAGE computer code. The two-shock platform was developed to look at the sensitivity of fuel–ablator mix with shock timing, asymmetry, surface roughness, and convergence on roughly ignition size scale capsules. This platform used CH/CD (plastic/deuterated plastic) shell capsules that were about 685-μm outer radius and filled with D2 or hydrogen-tritium (HT) gas. The experimental radius and velocity vs time, neutron yield, burn averaged ion temperature (Tion), burn width, and self-emission image size were compared to one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) simulations. Our 2D simulations suggest that the mixing of glass from the fill tube was the dominant source of impurity in the gas region of the capsule during burn, along with fuel–ablator mix. The mass of glass mixed in is about 5–10 ng. Our 2D simulations capture most of the yield trends from different degradation mechanisms, and they match the observed burn width and Tion measurements. Our 2D models match all the available data to within 2.5 times the normalized experimental error for 19 of 20 capsules.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Crystal response measurement of the x-ray transmission crystals used by the Imaging Spectroscopy Snout at the National Ignition Facility

The Imaging Spectroscopy Snout (ISS) used at the National Ignition Facility is able to simultaneously collect neutron pinhole images, 1D spatially resolved x-ray spectra, and time resolved x-ray pinhole images. To measure the x-ray spectra, the ISS can be equipped with up to four different transmission crystals, each offering different energy ranges from ∼7.5 to ∼12 keV and different resolutions. Characterizing and calibrating such instruments is of paramount importance in order to extract meaningful results from experiments. More specifically, we characterized different ISS transmission-type alpha-Quartz crystals by measuring their responses as a function of photon energy, from which we inferred the angle-integrated reflectivity for each crystal’s working reflections. These measurements were made at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory calibration station dedicated to the characterization of x-ray spectrometers. The sources used covered a wide x-ray range—from a few to 30 keV; the source diameter was ∼0.6 mm. The experimental results are discussed alongside theoretical calculations using the pyTTE model.

Dozieres, M. (ORCID:0000000286401459)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental study of the edge radial electric field in different drift configurations and its role in the access to H-mode at ASDEX Upgrade

The formation of the equilibrium radial electric field (Er) has been studied experimentally at ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) in L-modes of “favorable” (ion ∇ B-drift toward primary X-point) and “unfavorable” (ion ∇ B-drift away from primary X-point) drift configurations, in view of its impact on H-mode access, which changes with drift configurations. Edge electron and ion kinetic profiles and impurity velocity and mean-field Er profiles across the separatrix are investigated, employing new and improved measurement techniques. The experimental results are compared to local neoclassical theory as well as to a simple 1D scrape-off layer (SOL) model. It is found that in L-modes of matched heating power and plasma density, the upstream SOL Er and the main ion pressure gradient in the plasma edge are the same for either drift configurations, whereas the Er well in the confined plasma is shallower in unfavorable compared to the favorable drift configuration. The contributions of toroidal and poloidal main ion flows to Er, which are inferred from local neoclassical theory and the experiment, cannot account for these observed differences. Furthermore, it is found that in the L-mode, the intrinsic toroidal edge rotation decreases with increasing collisionality and it is co-current in the banana-plateau regime for all different drift configurations at AUG. This gives rise to a possible interaction of parallel Pfirsch–Schlüter flows in the SOL with the confined plasma. Thus, the different H-mode power threshold for the two drift configurations cannot be explained in the same way at AUG as suggested by LaBombard et al. [Phys. Plasmas 12, 056111 (2005)] for Alcator C-Mod. Finally, comparisons of Er profiles in favorable and unfavorable drift configurations at the respective confinement transitions show that also the Er gradients are all different, which indirectly indicates a different type or strength of the characteristic edge turbulence in the two drift configurations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental demonstration of >20 kJ laser energy coupling in 1-cm hydrocarbon-filled gas pipe targets via inverse Bremsstrahlung absorption with applications to MagLIF

Laser propagation experiments using four beams of the National Ignition Facility to deliver up to 35 kJ of laser energy at 351 nm laser wavelength to heat magnetized liner inertial fusion-scale (1 cm-long), hydrocarbon-filled gas pipe targets to ~keV electron temperatures have demonstrated energy coupling >20 kJ with essentially no backscatter in 15% critical electron density gas fills with 0–19 T applied axial magnetic fields. The energy coupling is also investigated for an electron density of 11.5% critical and for applied field strengths up to 24 T at both densities. This spans a range of Hall parameters 0 < ω ce τ ei ≲ 2, where a Hall parameter of 0.5 is expected to reduce electron thermal conduction across the field lines by a factor of 4–5 for the conditions of these experiments. At sufficiently high applied field strength (and therefore Hall parameter), the measured laser propagation speed through the targets increases in the measurements, consistent with reduced perpendicular electron thermal transport; this reduces the coupled energy to the target once the laser burns through the gas pipe. In conclusion, the results compare well with a 1D analytic propagation model for inverse Bremsstrahlung absorption.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Strong-Weak Duality via Jordan-Wigner Transformation: Using Fermionic Methods for Strongly Correlated su(2) Spin Systems

The Jordan-Wigner transformation establishes a duality between $su(2)$ and fermionic algebras. We present qualitative arguments and numerical evidence that when mapping spins to fermions, the transformation makes strong correlation weaker, as demonstrated by the Hartree-Fock approximation to the transformed Hamiltonian. This result can be rationalized in terms of rank reduction of spin shift terms when transformed to fermions. Conversely, the mapping of fermions to qubits makes strong correlation stronger, complicating its solution when one uses qubit-based correlators. The presence of string operators poses challenges to the implementation of quantum chemistry methods on classical computers, but these can be dealt with using established techniques of low computational cost. Here, our proof of principle results for XXZ and J1-J2 Heisenberg (in 1D and 2D) indicate that the JW transformed fermionic Hamiltonian has reduced complexity in key regions of their phase diagrams, and provides a better starting point for addressing challenging spin problems.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A reduced-model (nSOLT) simulation of neutral recycling effects on plasma turbulence in the divertor region of MAST-U

The 2D scrape-off-layer turbulence code (nSOLT), which includes 1D kinetic neutral–plasma interactions, is applied to study effects of neutral recycling on plasma turbulence for parameters illustrative of the MAST-U divertor region. Neutral recycling is modeled by injecting a fraction of the parallel plasma flux to the divertor back into the simulation domain as a source of Franck–Condon-distributed neutrals. Stationary sources, concentrated at the magnetic separatrix, model plasma streaming into the divertor region from the upstream scrape-off-layer and sustain plasma turbulence absent neutral recycling. Starting from one such no-neutrals equilibrium, we initiate recycling in a numerical experiment designed to diagnose and identify the effects of various neutral–plasma interactions on the divertor plasma, divertor turbulence, and plasma exhaust. The onset of recycling triggers an initial burst of enhanced cross field plasma transport that is quelled by ionization cooling and charge–exchange (CX) friction, with growing neutral pressure, leading to a quiescent, turbulence-free state. Diagnosis of this transient burst reveals that (1) the sudden increase in plasma density due to ionization dominates the onset of the burst, (2) electron cooling due to ionization increases collisionality and disconnects blob filaments from the sheath, and (3) CX friction drives tripole polarization of a blob that can dominate the curvature-driven dipole polarization, leading to the stagnation of blob propagation and reduced radial turbulent transport. It is shown that CX friction is negligible compared to sheath physics in determining equilibrium mean flow shearing rates, for parameters considered herein (specifically a short connection length to the divertor target), while it can significantly reduce interchange-instability growth rates.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

The electric fields and “lightning jets” of the Sun and solar wind

A model of electric energization of the solar wind and corona is developed, including electro-magnetic particle effects precluded by traditional magneto-hydro (MHD) assumptions. Using standard 1D radial solar models for particle density and temperature, the core gravito-electric field is calculated; and the range of possible photospheric photo-electric fields is estimated. The extant DC field apparently arises from about 460 C of charge displacement, mainly caused by the immense solar energy flux pushing electrons outward. Energetically, this electric field can accelerate surface protons out of the 2 keV gravity well and up to the 4 keV energies observed in the fast solar wind. The electrical energy is released in pervasive, persistent “proton lightning jets,” which are proton beams, charge-neutralized by co-propagating electrons. The jets are formed by pinched “avalanche breakdown” of the weakly ionized photosphere, probably initiated on the down-welling edges of solar surface granulations. These energetic jets will glow as discrete filamentary surface spicules and will be observed in reflected solar light as the diffuse K-corona. Significantly, the total charge displacement and observed fast wind speed are quantitatively predicted by a novel “virial limit”: the (positive) electrical potential energy at r = 0 is limited in magnitude to the 10 keV gravitational well at r = 0.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Machine learning methods for fission product identification from Bragg curves

A fission time projection chamber (fission-TPC) was developed to provide precise neutron-induced fission measurements for several major actinides. As fission fragments lose energy in one of the gas volumes of the fission-TPC, energy loss information is captured and may be used to determine fission product yields as the stopping power of an ion is dependent on the atomic number. The work presented here demonstrates the ability to apply machine learning techniques for Bragg curve classification. A set of one million energy loss curves for 24 different fission-fragment elements was generated using common stopping power software. A ResNet architecture optimized for 1D data was used to train, test, and validate a model for light and heavy fission fragments using the simulated data. The resultant classification accuracy for the light and heavy fragments indicates that this could be a viable method for elemental classification of data from the fission-TPC.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Data-driven assessment of magnetic charged particle confinement parameter scaling in magnetized liner inertial fusion experiments on Z

In magneto-inertial fusion, the ratio of the characteristic fuel length perpendicular to the applied magnetic field R to the α-particle Larmor radius $ϱ_α$ is a critical parameter setting the scale of electron thermal-conduction loss and charged burn-product confinement. Here, using a previously developed deep-learning-based Bayesian inference tool, we obtain the magnetic-field fuel-radius product BR ∝ R / $ϱ_α$ from an ensemble of 16 magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) experiments. Observations of the trends in BR are consistent with relative trade-offs between compression and flux loss as well as the impact of mix from 1D resistive radiation magneto-hydrodynamics simulations in all but two experiments, for which 3D effects are hypothesized to play a significant role. Finally, we explain the relationship between BR and the generalized Lawson parameter χ. Our results indicate the ability to improve performance in MagLIF through careful tuning of experimental inputs, while also highlighting key risks from mix and 3D effects that must be mitigated in scaling MagLIF to higher currents with a next-generation driver.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Strong collisionless coupling between an unmagnetized driver plasma and a magnetized background plasma

Fast-exploding plasmas traveling though magnetized, collisionless plasmas can occur in a variety of physical systems, such as supernova remnants, coronal mass ejections, and laser-driven laboratory experiments. To study these systems, it is important to understand the coupling process between the plasmas. Here, in this work, we develop a semi-analytical model of the parameters that characterize the strong collisionless coupling between an unmagnetized driver plasma and a uniformly and perpendicularly magnetized background plasma. In particular, we derive analytical expressions that describe the characteristic diamagnetic cavity and magnetic compression of these systems, such as their corresponding velocities, the compression ratio, and the maximum size of the cavity. The semi-analytical model is compared with collisionless 1D particle-in-cell simulations and experimental results with laser-driven plasmas. The model allows us to provide bounds for parameters that are otherwise difficult to diagnose in experiments with similar setups.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗