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Numerical simulation of a relativistic magnetron using a fluid electron model

Physics of Plasmas

Roberds, Nicholas R.; Cartwright, Keith C.; Sandoval, Andrew J.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Cyr, Eric C.; Glines, Forrest W.

An approach to numerically modeling relativistic magnetrons, in which the electrons are represented with a relativistic fluid, is described. A principal effect in the operation of a magnetron is space-charge-limited (SCL) emission of electrons from the cathode. We have developed an approximate SCL emission boundary condition for the fluid electron model. This boundary condition prescribes the flux of electrons as a function of the normal component of the electric field on the boundary. We show the results of a benchmarking activity that applies the fluid SCL boundary condition to the one-dimensional Child–Langmuir diode problem and a canonical two-dimensional diode problem. Simulation results for a two-dimensional A6 magnetron are then presented. Computed bunching of the electron cloud occurs and coincides with significant microwave power generation. Numerical convergence of the solution is considered. Sharp gradients in the solution quantities at the diocotron resonance, spanning an interval of three to four grid cells in the most well-resolved case, are present and likely affect convergence.

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Electrostatic Relativistic Fluid Models of Electron Emission in a Warm Diode

IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS)

Hamlin, Nathaniel D.; Smith, Thomas M.; Roberds, Nicholas R.; Glines, Forrest W.; Beckwith, Kristian B.

A semi-analytic fluid model has been developed for characterizing relativistic electron emission across a warm diode gap. Here we demonstrate the use of this model in (i) verifying multi-fluid codes in modeling compressible relativistic electron flows (the EMPIRE-Fluid code is used as an example; see also Ref. 1), (ii) elucidating key physics mechanisms characterizing the influence of compressibility and relativistic injection speed of the electron flow, and (iii) characterizing the regimes over which a fluid model recovers physically reasonable solutions.

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An overview of magneto-inertial fusion on the Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories

Yager-Elorriaga, David A.; Gomez, Matthew R.; Ruiz, Daniel E.; Slutz, Stephen A.; Harvey-Thompson, Adam J.; Jennings, Christopher A.; Knapp, Patrick K.; Schmit, Paul S.; Weis, Matthew R.; Awe, Thomas J.; Chandler, Gordon A.; Mangan, Michael M.; Myers, Clayton E.; Fein, Jeffrey R.; Geissel, Matthias G.; Glinsky, Michael E.; Hansen, Stephanie B.; Harding, Eric H.; Lamppa, Derek C.; Webster, Evelyn L.; Rambo, Patrick K.; Robertson, Grafton K.; Savage, Mark E.; Smith, Ian C.; Ampleford, David A.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Peterson, Kara J.; Porter, John L.; Rochau, G.A.; Sinars, Daniel S.

Abstract not provided.

Efficacy of the radial pair potential approximation for molecular dynamics simulations of dense plasmas

Physics of Plasmas

Stanek, Lucas J.; Clay III, Raymond C.; Dharma-Wardana, M.W.C.; Wood, Mitchell A.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Murillo, Michael S.

Macroscopic simulations of dense plasmas rely on detailed microscopic information that can be computationally expensive and is difficult to verify experimentally. In this work, we delineate the accuracy boundary between microscale simulation methods by comparing Kohn-Sham density functional theory molecular dynamics (KS-MD) and radial pair potential molecular dynamics (RPP-MD) for a range of elements, temperature, and density. By extracting the optimal RPP from KS-MD data using force matching, we constrain its functional form and dismiss classes of potentials that assume a constant power law for small interparticle distances. Our results show excellent agreement between RPP-MD and KS-MD for multiple metrics of accuracy at temperatures of only a few electron volts. The use of RPPs offers orders of magnitude decrease in computational cost and indicates that three-body potentials are not required beyond temperatures of a few eV. Due to its efficiency, the validated RPP-MD provides an avenue for reducing errors due to finite-size effects that can be on the order of ∼ 20 %.

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Towards Predictive Plasma Science and Engineering through Revolutionary Multi-Scale Algorithms and Models (Final Report)

Laity, George R.; Robinson, Allen C.; Cuneo, M.E.; Alam, Mary K.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Bennett, Nichelle L.; Bettencourt, Matthew T.; Bond, Stephen D.; Cochrane, Kyle C.; Criscenti, Louise C.; Cyr, Eric C.; De Zetter, Karen J.; Drake, Richard R.; Evstatiev, Evstati G.; Fierro, Andrew S.; Gardiner, Thomas A.; Glines, Forrest W.; Goeke, Ronald S.; Hamlin, Nathaniel D.; Hooper, Russell H.; Koski, Jason K.; Lane, James M.; Larson, Steven R.; Leung, Kevin L.; McGregor, Duncan A.; Miller, Philip R.; Miller, Sean M.; Ossareh, Susan J.; Phillips, Edward G.; Simpson, Sean S.; Sirajuddin, David S.; Smith, Thomas M.; Swan, Matthew S.; Thompson, Aidan P.; Tranchida, Julien G.; Bortz-Johnson, Asa J.; Welch, Dale R.; Russell, Alex M.; Watson, Eric D.; Rose, David V.; McBride, Ryan D.

This report describes the high-level accomplishments from the Plasma Science and Engineering Grand Challenge LDRD at Sandia National Laboratories. The Laboratory has a need to demonstrate predictive capabilities to model plasma phenomena in order to rapidly accelerate engineering development in several mission areas. The purpose of this Grand Challenge LDRD was to advance the fundamental models, methods, and algorithms along with supporting electrode science foundation to enable a revolutionary shift towards predictive plasma engineering design principles. This project integrated the SNL knowledge base in computer science, plasma physics, materials science, applied mathematics, and relevant application engineering to establish new cross-laboratory collaborations on these topics. As an initial exemplar, this project focused efforts on improving multi-scale modeling capabilities that are utilized to predict the electrical power delivery on large-scale pulsed power accelerators. Specifically, this LDRD was structured into three primary research thrusts that, when integrated, enable complex simulations of these devices: (1) the exploration of multi-scale models describing the desorption of contaminants from pulsed power electrodes, (2) the development of improved algorithms and code technologies to treat the multi-physics phenomena required to predict device performance, and (3) the creation of a rigorous verification and validation infrastructure to evaluate the codes and models across a range of challenge problems. These components were integrated into initial demonstrations of the largest simulations of multi-level vacuum power flow completed to-date, executed on the leading HPC computing machines available in the NNSA complex today. These preliminary studies indicate relevant pulsed power engineering design simulations can now be completed in (of order) several days, a significant improvement over pre-LDRD levels of performance.

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FLEXO: Development of a Discontinuous Galerkin Multimaterial Magneto-Hydrodynamics Code for MagLIF Simulation

Beckwith, Kristian B.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Bond, Stephen D.; Bond, Stephen D.; Granzow, Brian N.; Granzow, Brian N.; Hamlin, Nathaniel D.; Hamlin, Nathaniel D.; Martin, Matthew; Martin, Matthew; Powell, Michael P.; Powell, Michael P.; Ruggirello, Kevin P.; Ruggirello, Kevin P.; Stagg, Alan K.; Stagg, Alan K.; Voth, Thomas E.; Voth, Thomas E.

Abstract not provided.

Development of the Flexo XMHD Code

Beckwith, Kristian B.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Beckwith, Kristian B.; Bond, Stephen D.; Bond, Stephen D.; Bond, Stephen D.; Bond, Stephen D.; Granzow, Brian N.; Granzow, Brian N.; Granzow, Brian N.; Granzow, Brian N.; Jennings, Christopher A.; Jennings, Christopher A.; Jennings, Christopher A.; Jennings, Christopher A.; Martin, Matthew; Martin, Matthew; Martin, Matthew; Martin, Matthew; Porwitzky, Andrew J.; Porwitzky, Andrew J.; Porwitzky, Andrew J.; Porwitzky, Andrew J.; Stagg, Alan K.; Stagg, Alan K.; Stagg, Alan K.; Stagg, Alan K.; Voth, Thomas E.; Voth, Thomas E.; Voth, Thomas E.; Voth, Thomas E.

Abstract not provided.

25 Results
25 Results