Precompression of matter during radiative energy transfer in a steady-state thermonuclear burn wave

It is shown that precompression of matter ahead of the thermonuclear burn wave front can occur in the central volume of a multilayer cylindrical system under conditions of radiative energy transfer outside the region of wave propagation. The degree of compression is sufficient for the development of a self-maintained wave of fusion reactions. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 12, 783–786 (25 December 1997)     

压缩氘氚球的热核燃烧特性研究

本文利用LARED-S程序模拟了等密度和等压力条件下压缩氘氚球的热核反应燃烧过程.对于等密度模型,模拟了两个具体算例,与国外计算结果进行了比较,验证了程序的可靠性.对于等压力模型,利用数值模拟给出了热核反应燃烧与压缩氘氚球初始状态之间的关系曲线,分析发现,氘氚装量、压力和主燃料密度的增加有利于提高热核反应放能和燃耗,中心热斑的温度和面密度分别达到70—80 MK和3—4 kg·m^-2时热核反应才有显著的放能,提高主燃料密度,可以适当放宽对中心热斑的点火要求.最后对实际点火靶进行了数值模拟并且与等压力模拟计算结果进行了比较分析.     

Investigation of preheating of laser thermonuclear targets

The preheating level of the thermonuclear fuel and of the gas-compressing shell is the main criterion of the target-compression efficiency in experiments on laserdriven thermonuclear fusion. This paper contains the result of investigations of electronic, radiative, and impact preheating in experiments on compression and heating of hlgh-aspect shell targets in the Del'fin-l laser-derived thermonuclear facility. A procedure, based on analysis of the epithermal emission of the plasma, is considered for measuring the target preheating by fast electrons. The radiative and impact preheating of compressing shells in DD gas are estimated. The results of the investigation demonstrate the high degree of adiabaticity of the compression of the thermonuclear fuel in experiments with the Del'fin-l facility.Nuclear Plasma Laboratory of the Lebedev Physics Institute. Translated from Preprint No. 3, Lebedev Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1990.     

Compression and combustion of non-cryogenic targets with a solid thermonuclear fuel for inertial fusion

Variants of a target with a solid thermonuclear fuel in the form of deuterium-tritium hydrides of light metals for an inertial fusion have been proposed. The laser-pulse-induced compression of non-cryogenic targets, as well as ignition and combustion of such targets, has been examined. The numerical calculations show that, despite a decrease in the caloric content of the fuel and an increase in the energy losses on intrinsic radiation in the target containing deuterium-tritium hydrides of light metals as compared to the target containing deuterium-tritium ice, the non-cryogenic target can ensure the fusion gain sufficient for its use in the energy cycle of a thermonuclear power plant based on the inertial plasma confinement method.     

Numerical studies of deuterium-tritium ignition in impact-fusiontargets

A numerical one-dimensional solution of the Euler equations for an imploding spherical tungsten shell with internal deuterium-tritium gas is applied to study impact-fusion dynamics with parameters of fusion-reactor relevance. Thermal conduction and radiative energy loss by the plasma are taken into account, as is heating by fusion-generated alpha particles. A variety of target sizes and impact velocities are examined, and scaling laws for fusion yields are deduced which define possible parameters for conceptual commercial impact-fusion power reactors. It is found that shell energies and velocities of about 30 MJ and 110 km/s would be satisfactory. A potential commercial impact-fusion reactor based on such parameters is discussed     

Energy deposition of fast α particles in a fully ionized deuterium-tritium plasma

An α particle transport equation has been solved analytically in one-dimensional spherical geometry when the plasma properties are uniform in space and time. The results agree well with earlier results.     

氘-氚中子源辐照旋转靶剂量演化模拟计算

首次将蒙特卡罗自动建模系统(MCAM)、蒙特卡罗粒子输运程序(MCNP)及自主研发的活化程序BURNDOT相结合,实现了中子输运、材料活化、光子输运模拟计算的耦合。对14MeV氘-氚(D-T)中子源旋转靶室剂量演化分析,计算了氘-氚中子源辐照旋转靶室的瞬发中子、γ三维辐射剂量场分布及连续辐照8小时后缓发γ剂量变化情况,并考察了材质、栅元、主要核素对缓发γ剂量贡献的影响,得到了旋转靶的剂量时空演化规律,把计算结果与欧洲活化程序FISPACT-2007进行了对比。     

Pattern formation in a reaction-diffusion-advection system with wave instability

In this paper, we show by means of numerical simulations how new patterns can emerge in a system with wave instability when a unidirectional advective flow (plug flow) is added to the system. First, we introduce a three variable model with one activator and two inhibitors with similar kinetics to those of the Oregonator model of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. For this model, we explore the type of patterns that can be obtained without advection, and then explore the effect of different velocities of the advective flow for different patterns. We observe standing waves, and with flow there is a transition from out of phase oscillations between neighboring units to in-phase oscillations with a doubling in frequency. Also mixed and clustered states are generated at higher velocities of the advective flow. There is also a regime of "waving Turing patterns" (quasi-stationary structures that come close and separate periodically), where low advective flow is able to stabilize the stationary Turing pattern. At higher velocities, superposition and interaction of patterns are observed. For both types of patterns, at high velocities of the advective field, the known flow distributed oscillations are observed.     

The formation of surface electroacoustic shear wave in a piezoelectric crystal

It is illustrated by specific example that, near a dipole-active intrinsic ferroelastic phase transition characterized by a single-component order parameter, a surface electroacoustic shear wave can arise, if spatial dispersion is included, even in the case of the surface of a piezoelectric crystal being rigidly fixed.     

The influence of the state of a compressed thermonuclear substance on the combustion of inertial fusion targets under direct ignition by a short radiation pulse

One-dimensional numerical calculations were performed to study the dependence of conditions for initiating thermonuclear combustion and of the target gain of direct-ignition inertial fusion targets ignited by a short radiation pulse on the initial temperature of a preliminarily compressed fuel and the initial heat energy distribution between plasma electrons and ions in the ignition region (igniter). The igniter parameters at which an effective thermonuclear target explosion with a G ～ 10³ target gain occurred were shown to substantially depend on the initial temperature of the major fuel fraction and the initial heat energy distribution between igniter electrons and ions. The heat energy of the igniter passed a minimum as the size of the igniter decreased. The dependences of these minimum energies on the temperature of the major fuel fraction at various initial energy distributions between igniter electrons and ions were determined. An increase in the temperature of the major fuel fraction was shown to decrease the target gain.     

Laser driven shock wave studies in gold coated Plexiglas targets

Abstract

Laser-driven shock wave propagation in a transparent material such as Plexiglas coated with a thin overlayer of gold is studied using the technique of high speed optical shadowgraphy. A Nd: glass laser was focussed to produce intensities in the range of 10′²-10′⁴W/cm² on the target, within an irradiation spot diameter of 160 pm, optical shadowgrams were recorded bya second harmonic (0.53 pm wavelength) pulse. Shock pressures and scaling of pressure with laser intensity was studied. Shock pressures in gold-coated Plexiglas target was observed to be considerably higher compared to those in uncoated targets. This enhancement of shock pressure has been explained on the basis of contribution of an X-ray driven ablative heat wave in the gold plasma. Shock pressure values show a close agreement with those obtained from a one-dimensional Langrangian hydrodynamic simulation. Shadowgrams of shock fronts produced by non-uniform spatial laser beam irradiation profiles have shown complete smoothing when a gold layer is used on a Plexiglas target.