Investigation of the interaction pulse in nested wire array z-pinches
ORAL
Abstract
Radiation pulse shaping is vital for z-pinch driven ICF concepts. One method to achieve such pulse shaping is to use the foot pulse generated by the interaction between two nested wire arrays. We present data from experiments investigating this interaction pulse on the MAGPIE generator (1MA, 240ns) at Imperial College London. On MAGPIE, the current through the inner array is suppressed by enhancing its inductance, leading to a similar current fraction to that observed on the Z-generator. In these experiments time gated imaging of photon energies $>$30eV indicates that radiation is emitted as leading bubbles of the imploding outer array reach and pass the inner array. Experiments using novel configurations to eliminate possible heating mechanisms will also be discussed, and data will be compared to simulations from the Gorgon 3D MHD code.
*Sandia is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the US DOE under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Experiments at Imperial College are sponsored by the NNSA under DOE Cooperative Agreement DE-F03-02NA00057.
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