Systematic Analysis of Saturn Wire Array Implosion Observations

A comprehensive analysis is presented of data from a series of aluminum wire array implosions conducted two years ago on the Saturn generator at Sandia National laboratories. These experiments were originally designed to explore how results from Physics International's Double Eagle facility would scale to larger masses and implosion velocities. Parameters varied imploding mass and maximum implosion velocity, holding total kinetic energy constant. Data include filtered XRD traces, time-integrated keV spectra, and K-shell pinhole photographs, from which we infer mean radiated power, Itinetic energy at stagnation, plasma temperature and density, and average fraction of imploding mass participating in keV radiation. The introduction of electronic data analysis for all quantities except pulsewidth makes the procedure both rapid and self-consistent. The derived quantities show systematic trends, some correlating with yield behavior. As expected, the particle kinetic energy maximizing yield was a small multiple of the atomic number-dependent energy needed to ionize and sufficiently heat the plasma. The mass participation fraction, which showed considerable variation, correlated positively with 1 keY yield. The procedures described allow efficient and meaningful analysis of PRS experiments. The results have implications for high-yield wire-array implosion designs, especially with high-power, short-pulse accelerators.
Prepared in collaboration with Sandia National Lab., Albuquerque, NM.