Shock tube investigation of hydrodynamic issues related to inertial confinement fusion

A shock tube investigation of two hydrodynamic issues related to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is undertaken. ICF is a promising source of energy for the future. There has been a considerable increase in the interest in ICF with the development of the National Ignition Facility (NIF). However, much remains to be investigated before a useful yield is obtained from a fusion reaction for power generation. The physics involved in carrying out a fusion reaction combines hydrodynamics, plasma physics and radiation effects superimposed on each other, at extremely small scales, making the problem very complex. One such phenomenon occurring in the deuterium-tritium pellet implosion is the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability occuring at each layer of the fuel which results in the mixing of the ablator with the fuel. This causes dilution of the fuel and reduces the yield of the reaction. Another issue is the impulsive loading of ICF reactor cooling tubes due to the shock wave produced as a result of the fusion reaction. These tubes must withstand the impulse of the shock wave. A shock tube provides an ideal environment to study these issues at large geometric scales with the isolation of hydrodynamics from other effects. A new vertical, square shock tube has been designed specifically for the purpose of studying these fluid flow phenomena from a fundamental point of view. The shock tube is vertical, with a large square inner cross-section and is designed to allow for the release of a shock into air at atmospheric pressure. In this paper, we describe the new shock tube and related instrumentation in detail and present a few preliminary results on the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability and shock-cylinder interactions. Received 5 January 1999 / Accepted 10 July 2000