Numerical studies on the radiation uniformity of Z-pinch dynamic hohlraum

Radiation uniformity is important for Z-pinch dynamic hohlraum driven fusion. In order to understand the radiation uniformity of Z-pinchdynamic hohlraum, the code MULTI-2D with a new developed magnetic field package is employed to investigate the related physical processeson Julong-I facility with drive current about 7e8 MA. Numerical simulations suggest that Z-pinch dynamic hohlraum with radiation temperaturemore than 100 eV can be created on Julong-I facility. Although some X-rays can escape out of the hohlraum from Z-pinch plasma and electrodes, the radiation field near the foam center is quite uniform after a transition time. For the load parameters used in this paper, the transitiontime for the thermal wave transports from r = 1 mm to r = 0 mm is about 2.0 ns. Implosion of a testing pellet driven by cylindrical dynamichohlraum shows that symmetrical implosion is hard to achieve due to the relatively slow propagation speed of thermal wave and the compressionof cylindrical shock in the foam. With the help of quasi-spherical implosion, the hohlraum radiation uniformity and corresponding pelletimplosion symmetry can be significantly improved thanks to the shape modulation of thermal wave front and shock wave front.

Simulations on the multi-shell target ignition driven by radiation pulse in Z-pinch dynamic hohlraum

We present the first simulation results of a multi-shell target ignition driven by Z-pinch dynamic hohlraum radiation pulse.The radiation pulse is produced with a special Z-pinch dynamic hohlraum configuration,where the hohlraum is composed of a single metal liner,a low-Z plastic foam,and a high-Z metallic foam.The implosion dynamics of a hohlraum and a multi-shell target are investigated separately by the one-dimensional code MULTI-IFE.When the peak drive current is 50 MA,simulations suggest that an x-ray pulse with nearly constant radiation temperature(-310 eV)and a duration about 9 ns can be obtained.A small multi-shell target with a radius of 1.35 mm driven by this radiation pulse is able to achieve volumetric ignition with an energy gain(G)about 6.19,where G is the ratio of the yield to the absorbed radiation.Through this research,we better understand the effects of non-uniformities and hydrodynamics instabilities in Z-pinch dynamic hohlraum.