Vol. 53, No. 2        January 26, 2001

Pulsed power

What does an architect have in common with an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target designer seeking 1 percent radiation uniformity at a fusion capsule? The LightscapeTM commercial lighting simulation package from the architecture world has been adapted to accurately model radiation transport in complex 3-dimensional z-pinch hohlraums. Complementary research uses Sandia-developed viewfactor codes and constrained optimization algorithms to automatically find hohlraum geometries with optimal symmetry. These are two examples of the novel methods we recently developed to study radiation symmetry in ICF hohlraums. (1600) Roger Vesey, ravesey@sandia.gov

Recently a new, revolutionary capability has been developed at Sandia to magnetically launch macroscopic, hyper-velocity flyer plates. The large magnetic fields produced in the insulating gaps of the Z accelerator have been used to "gently" accelerate relatively large aluminum, copper, or titanium flyer plates (9-12 mm in diameter by 200-300 mm thickness) to velocities in excess of 20 km/s. This technique is being used to perform equation-of-state experiments with unprecedented accuracy in ultrahigh-pressure studies. (1600) Marcus Knudson, mdknuds@sandia.gov

The Annular Core Research Reactor was modified to provide hostile environment testing for weapon components. The reactor was reconfigured for pulse operation with experiments located in the center of the reactor. Exceptional efforts by many people enabled completion of high level programmatic goals for both ACORN and neutron generator programs. NNSA Defense Programs official Gen. Thomas Gioconda praised the reactor reconfiguration effort, which earned a DOE Nuclear Weapons Program Award of Excellence and a Sandia Presidentıs Gold Quality Award. John Guth, jrguth@sandia.gov

Last modified: January 31, 2001

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