Multidimensional analysis of direct-drive, plastic-shell implosions on OMEGA

P. B. Radha, T. J.B. Collins, J. A. Delettrez, Y. Elbaz, R. Epstein, V. Yu Glebov, V. N. Goncharov, R. L. Keck, J. P. Knauer, J. A. Marozas, F. J. Marshall, R. L. Mccrory, P. W. Mckenty, D. D. Meyerhofer, S. P. Regan, T. C. Sangster, W. Seka, D. Shvarts, S. Skupsky, Y. SrebroC. Stoeckl

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Abstract

Direct-drive, plastic shells imploded on the OMEGA laser system [T. R. Boehly, Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] with a 1 ns square pulse are simulated using the multidimensional hydrodynamic code DRACO in yield degradation in "thin" shells is primarily caused by shell breakup during the acceleration phase due to short-wavelength (ℓ>50, where ℓ is the Legendre mode number) perturbation growth, whereas "thick" shell performance is influenced primarily by long and intermediate modes (ℓ≤50). Simulation yields, temporal history of neutron production, areal densities, and x-ray images of the core compare well with experimental observations. In particular, the thin-shell neutron production history falls off less steeply than one-dimensional predictions due to shell-breakup-induced undercompression and delayed stagnation. Thicker, more-stable shells show burn truncation due to instability-induced mass flow into the colder bubbles. Estimates of small-scale mix indicate that turbulent mixing does not influence primary neutron yields.

Original languageEnglish
Article number056307
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
JournalPhysics of Plasmas
Volume12
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2005
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion

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