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Impact of Localized Radiative Loss on Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosions
1Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|April 28, 2020
Summary
Localized material mix significantly reduces fusion energy output in inertial confinement. Reducing fill tube size improves fusion energy production, nearing ignition conditions.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Nuclear Fusion
- Plasma Physics
Background:
- Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) relies on imploding capsules to achieve ignition.
- Localized mix of ablator material into the hot spot degrades ICF performance.
- Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities can drive ablator material into the fuel core.
Purpose of the Study:
- Quantify the impact of radiative loss from localized mix on fusion energy production.
- Investigate the relationship between mix fraction and energy degradation.
- Assess the effect of fill tube diameter on ignition metrics.
Main Methods:
- Utilized neutron and X-ray imaging to reconstruct hot spot conditions during burn.
- Analyzed localized radiative loss from injected ablator material.
- Correlated fusion energy output with the fraction of emission from mixed material.
Main Results:
- Radiative loss from localized mix directly degrades fusion energy production.
- Energy output degradation is linearly proportional to the fraction of mixed ablator material.
- Observed variations in fusion energy production up to 1.6 times due to radiative loss.
Conclusions:
- Localized mix and subsequent radiative loss are primary drivers of performance variations in ICF.
- Reducing fill tube diameter significantly enhances the ignition metric (χ_{no α}), approaching the threshold for a burning hot spot.
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